Shopping: Because customers save: crisis of the furniture industry is intensified

“Everything is getting more expensive, we stay cheap” – so that a well -known furniture discounter advertises these days. As in other industries, retailers try to lure customers into their markets with special offers. With moderate success. Many people in Germany avoid furniture stores and prefer to spend their money elsewhere.

In 2024, again was not a good year for the industry. The sales of the German furniture manufacturers sank nominal, i.e. not adjusted to price changes, by 7.4 percent to 16.4 billion euros. The prices for home furniture did not rose recently. In the case of furniture dealers, the minus was expected to be between six and eight percent. The industry associations VDM and BVDM announced this. The proceeds had dropped in the previous year.

Why? “The increased cost of living forces many households to restructure their expenses. Food and energy have priority that furniture purchases are classified than less urgent,” said retail expert Sebastian Wilde from the Falkensteg management consultancy.

The furniture industry also suffers from the aftermath of Corona. “There was a boom during the pandemic. Many people have preferred back to private and furniture purchases,” says trading expert Marco Atzberger from the EHI research institute.

Now the need is covered. If you buy a sofa, a closet or dining table, you don’t get something new two or three years later. Now the money of the customers is often floating on vacation and travel, says the head of the furniture and kitchens, Jean Lucas Dürand.

Ten-year high in bankruptcies

The mood in the industry is bad. Because of the difficult situation, the Imm Cologne planned for January was canceled, one of the world’s most important furniture fairs. An economic survey of the Germany trade association, which is carried out at the beginning of the year, shows that only 4 percent of the furniture, furnishing and home textiles are good for the business situation, 44 percent satisfactory, every third bad. Only 22 percent expect higher sales this year than in 2024.

The situation has a noticeable effect on the employees. The number of employees in the furniture industry in Germany fell by 5.4 percent to 71,231. The number of companies with more than 50 employees decreased by 3.8 percent to 414. According to a association survey, 44 percent of companies applied for short -time work in the first quarter of 2025.

Some companies recently got into larger imbalance. The chain Opti-Wohnwelt and the furniture manufacturers Loddenkemper and Schröder slipped into bankruptcy in 2024. The furniture manufacturer Hülsta hired its operation. According to an evaluation by the credit insurer Allianz Trade, the bankruptcies in the industry climbed to a new ten-year high with more than 230 cases last year. A quick end is not in sight at first, says the head of insolvency research, Maxime Lemerle.

Housing remains a problem

Industry giant Ikea is still comparatively well. The company still feels the bad buying mood. In the 2023/2024 financial year, the furniture retailer recorded a drop in sales of 5 percent. The number of visitors in the branches was also lower. Ikea also justified this by the fact that numerous products had recently been reduced in the price.

The declining new housing continues to be troubled by companies. According to the Federal Statistical Office, only 215,900 apartments were approved in 2024. The number fell by 17 percent compared to the previous year and the lowest level since 2010. “With it, the draft horse of the furniture industry in recent years, the kitchens, is out of the question,” says furniture expert Christoph Lamsfuß from the IFH Cologne Commercial Research Institute. The purchase of a new building leads to the purchase of furniture and kitchens through follow -up removals.

Expert sees an opportunity for furniture industry

Last year it was the manufacturers of living, dining and bedroom furniture that, according to the association, suffered particularly from the reluctance of consumers. Their sales were 11.2 percent lower than in the previous year. The losses in the area of ​​kitchen furniture (-6.5), mattresses (-5) and office and shop furniture (-4) were somewhat lower.

With a view to the current year, the industry is at least carefully optimistic. The managing director of the associations of the German furniture industry (VDM), Jan Kurth, “expects low sales growth in low single -digit percentage” for 2025. Among other things, he hopes for a weakening inflation and rising real wages.

The kitchen manufacturer Redpunkt from Bünde is also confident. With a clearly attractive order input since November 2024, the new year has started with a tailwind, says Managing Director Andreas Wagner.

Expert Lamsfuß sees opportunities for the industry. The demand for flexible furniture is increasing. “If living space is expensive and apartments are rare, less moves and the existing apartments have to be used as best as possible,” he says. Therefore, space -saving and versatile furniture or modular systems that could be reduced or expanded would be required.