The UK market for office furniture was worth an estimated £859.8m at manufacturers' selling prices (msp) in 2007, having risen by a marginal 0.3% since 2006.
Five sectors are covered in this Market Report. Wooden desks include all types of desking with wood or fibreboard worktops. (Most desks fall into this category.) Other wooden furniture includes mobile pedestals, display units, shelves, racking, screens, panels, cupboards, bookcases and cabinets. Metal cupboards and filing cabinets are traditional 3-drawer and 4-drawer filing cabinets and cupboards. Other metal furniture includes high-level shelving and storage units, screens, panels, display stands, mobile pedestals, 2-drawer cabinets, desks with metal worktops, metal tables and trolleys. Upholstered swivel seating covers task or operator chairs and executive chairs, and orthopaedic chairs for the office.
Business confidence improved in 2004 and business investment showed overall growth between 2004 and 2007, which has benefited demand for new office space and for furniture. However, the aftermath of the credit crisis led to a slump in confidence in the first few months of 2008. The important banking and financial services sector, which makes a major contribution to the UK economy and to demand for office furniture, has been badly hit.
The increased cost of raw materials and energy, plus general inflation, resulted in an increase in office-furniture producer prices in 2007, particularly in the wooden office-furniture sector.
Despite the inflationary pressures, prices have been kept to a minimum by pressure from low-cost imports. Between 2003 and 2007, imports increased their penetration of the UK market by ten percentage points.
Trends in working practices affect the choice of office furniture. Flat screens, smaller computers and the sharing of network printers allow smaller desks to be used. Centralised storage and reliance on electronic storage reduces the need for traditional desk drawers and workgroup filing. Staff are more likely to share desks, work outside the office for part of the week and move around the office to accomplish different tasks. Furniture needs to be flexible, so that configurations can be changed as needs alter.
Key Note expects 2008 to be a difficult year for the office-furniture market, which is forecast to remain static in current-price terms and fall in terms of constant prices. At current prices, growth is expected to resume in 2009, and continue at fairly modest rates for the remainder of the forecast period (2008 to 2012). Market trends will favour space-saving designs in desking and storage.
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