28 March 2024, 13:35
By Furniture News Mar 14, 2018

Industry turnover rising, says BFM

The UK furniture industry's total turnover increased to nearly £9b in 2017 – up 2.8% on the previous year – according to a review of UK manufacturing performance in 2017 by the British Furniture Manufacturers (BFM) association.

Based on official statistics, the total turnover for the sector, including income from non-production activities, was found to total more than £8.7b. Retail sales for the year, in terms of value, also showed an increase of +3.1%, although by volume they crept up by just +0.1% YoY.

Mike Dimond, the BFM's director of employment and membership, says: "The report also confirmed that raw material costs are still a major issue for the sector - something picked up in our February state of trade survey. Official figures revealed 2017 prices were up by an average of +6.0% on the previous year.

"Factory gate prices of ‘all furniture' increased by +2.6% on average over the year in an attempt to recover margins as a result of increased material costs - it's the largest rise in costs since 2011."

The full copy of the report is available to BFM members.

© 2013 - 2024 Gearing Media Group Ltd. All Rights Reserved.