Working from Home Will Expand and Will Continue to Be a Stable Model, Spurred by COVID-19
Remote working is becoming a consolidated method, which is radically changing the connection between home and work environments and taking to the design of ever more hybrid spaces. The pandemic led to increased flexibility for both employers and employees, allowing people to work from different places, with the working week split between home and the office.
The new edition of the report “Home office furniture market in Europe” analyses the evolution of the working from home furniture segment, present scenario and growth prospects, and it is structured in two parts:
PART 1. HOME OFFICE FURNITURE IN EUROPE: BASIC DATA, BUSINESS PERFORMANCE AND COMPETITION
This part deals with the market size at end-user prices and forecasts of the home office furniture sector in Europe, demand drivers, estimated sales by country, leading manufacturers and distributors.
The Home office furniture consumption in Europe is provided by geographical area (Northern Europe, Western Europe, Central Europe DACH, Southern Europe, Central-Eastern Europe) divided according to their geographical proximity and similarity in market characteristics, and by European markets.
Distribution of home office furniture in Europe: shares and evolution of the distribution channels (Office Furniture Dealers, Home Furniture Dealers, Large Scale Retail, E-commerce, DIY, Other), estimated sales of home office furniture for 70 selected leading distributors in Europe and short profiles of the main players.
Breakdown of the Home office furniture market in Europe by product segment (Seats, Desks, Cabinets/Other furnishings)
Competition: market features, concentration and leading manufacturers of home office furniture with total revenues and estimated sales in home office for a sample of 75 leading furniture and office furniture manufacturers in Europe and short profiles of selected companies and insights on how marketing policy and logistic system have been re-addressed in order to achieve the home-office furniture business.
PART 2. WORKING FROM HOME. THE END-USER EXPERIENCE
In the period May-July 2022, the author conducted a survey on a sample of end-users, of different ages and occupations, collecting the opinions of over 400 respondents from all over Europe. A previous survey to a similar target and geography has been made in mid-2020. Results of both surveys are shown to show changes that have occurred in the meantime.
The survey goes in-depth into the following aspects:
- Hybrid working: Usual working location and teleworking;
- Modifications of the domestic space and rooms used while working from home;
- Furniture used in the home workstations;
- Level of satisfaction with the home office environment (internet connection, sound/noise, privacy, lighting, desking seating);
- Purchasing process (home office products purchased, budget spent, channels and retail brands).
KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS STUDY:
- What is the home office furniture market size in Europe?
- What is the incidence of this segment in the European countries?
- What are the products involved and their features?
- What companies produce and sell for this segment?
CONSIDERED PRODUCTS:
Seating (Swivel chairs with or without castors used for home offices, other kind of ergonomic chairs), Standard desks (Desks of different dimensions like the ones used in offices, free-standing or wall-mounted desks or part of a cabinet/bookcases system), HAT (Height Adjustable Tables or 'sit-stand' desks), Small home office desks (Desks of small dimension with integrated storage or not), Cabinets and Storage (Bookcases, pedestals, single cabinets, cabinet systems).
GEOGRAPHICAL AREA COVERED:
- Northern Europe (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden)
- Western Europe (Belgium-Lux, France, Ireland, Netherlands and the United Kingdom)
- Central Europe DACH (Germany, Austria and Switzerland)
- Southern Europe (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain)
- Central-Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia)
Table of Contents
METHODOLOGY AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Executive Summary
Back in 2000, the publisher studied how the rapid expansion of flexible and remote work, that started during the late '90s across Europe, was strengthening the demand of home office furniture, thus creating new growth opportunities and convergences between traditional office furniture markets and suppliers of domestic household furniture. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic nowadays is resulting in structural change that will be sustained in the future in the way people work and it is affecting the home office furniture market.
Highlights
The home office furniture market in Europe evolved positively in the last decade. The growth is the result of the increasing demand from people working at home regularly or sometimes, a potential number of about 83 million individuals. Germany is by far the largest market, followed by the United Kingdom and France.
With the COVID-19 outbreak, the proportion of teleworkers is forecasted to grow, following a rebalancing between time spent in offices and time spent at home, and this will undoubtedly lead to a general improvement in the furniture and tools used for working at home. This market, historically composed to a large extent of ready-to-assemble-furniture and relatively low budget items, will undergo a significant transformation starting from 2020, evolving also in terms of features and in quality.
The change in workers' habits, and the fact that working from home will expand and will continue to be a stable model, will also lead the competition to become tougher. As customers will tend to invest more in their home office furniture and equipment, the number of actors participating in the home office supply business will multiply in different categories.
Companies Mentioned (Partial List)
A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to:
- ACTIU
- Actona
- Alsapan
- Amazon
- Arper
- Bisley
- BoConcept
- Bolia
- BRW Black Red White
- Composad srl
- Conforama
- DAMS Furniture
- Dauphin
- Estel
- Fellowes
- Flokk
- Forte
- Gautier
- Habitat
- Haworth
- Home24
- IKEA
- Interstuhl
- Leroy Merlin
- Made.com
- Maisons du Monde
- Marks and Spencer
- Martela
- Miller-Knoll
- Nowy Styl
- Parisot
- Sedus Stoll
- Steelcase
- Szynaka
- Tecno
- Topstar
- Tvilum
- USM
- Vitra
- Vivonio
