The Industry

Introduction

UK furniture, bed and furnishings manufacturing is a substantial industry. According to 2021 Government statistics, its consumer expenditure in 2021 topped £42 billion, supporting over 265,000 jobs in over 26,400 companies. Manufacturing turnover rose 22% to £12.6 billion emanating from 8,790 companies employing almost 109,000 people. 

UK exports of furntiure and furnsings in 2021 were £1.5 billion with trade with EU being the number one destination (0.8 billion); and exports to Ireland reaching £0.2 billion. On the other hand, imports totalled £8.4 billion 2021. 

Furniture, furnishings and beds encompass a diverse range of products and markets, traditionally segmented into 3 sub sectors based upon the purchaser’s characteristics:

• Domestic: serving the public, mainly through retail outlets and for household use.
• Contract: furniture for public areas such as hotels, schools, cruise liners, hospitals, restaurants, residential accommodation, stadia and airports.
• Office: desks, work stations, seating, tables, cabinets and other items for the office environment.

Companies often serve more than one market. In particular the distinctions between the office and contract sectors are blurred, and some manufacturers supply both domestic and contract end users. It is estimated that 30% of the UK’s furniture manufacturing turnover is attributable to the office and contract sub sectors.

Structure

The industry has a high proportion of micro and small to medium size businesses. Looking solely at furniture and bed manufacturing (i.e. excluding furnishings, retail, repair, design etc), only 310 companies (3.3%) report turnovers in excess of £5 million and 82% of companies turn over less than £1m per year with 31.8% turning over less than £250,000. This pattern is reflected in employment figures with 78% of companies employing less than 10 people, and only 40 companies (0.63%) employing more than 250.

Despite its contribution to the UK economy, furniture and bed manufacturing suffers from lack of recognition at a political level. The industry has no traditional regional hub, with manufacturing spread across the country. As a consequence, and with much industry support now targeted on a regional basis, it is considered that the industry does not secure the support and influence from government that is appropriate for its size and contribution to the economy.

1 Statistics taken from FIRA’s Statistics Digest December 2019,  a compilation of published statistics and market information which has been sourced primarily from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), HM Customs and Revenue, The Bank of England and the Communities.