In recent years, the development of office furniture has made significant progress, but the domestic industry still faces several challenges. There are relatively few well-established office furniture companies, and the quality of products varies greatly. Many firms lack real design and manufacturing capabilities, relying instead on superficial listings or low-cost production, which hinders the industry's long-term growth.
The furniture sector includes solid wood furniture, panel furniture, children's furniture, and office furniture. However, office furniture companies are highly fragmented, with limited innovation and low profit margins. This makes it difficult for them to scale up and become market leaders. According to Zhu Changling, vice chairman of the China Furniture Association, the price of Chinese office furniture is 5 to 8 times higher than that of foreign counterparts. Despite a 20% to 30% increase in sales in the first half of this year, the value of domestic office furniture remains low.
One of the main barriers to development is poor design. At major furniture exhibitions, many Shenzhen-based office furniture booths display signs like "Domestic Only" or "By Invitation of Overseas Clients," effectively excluding the domestic market. Zhu explained that some companies avoid selling locally to prevent their designs from being copied. The number of independent office furniture brands is very limited, with most companies operating as OEMs. As Su Bei noted, some firms focus solely on manufacturing without any brand value.
The entry barrier in the office furniture industry is low, leading to uneven quality, imitation, and price competition. Huang Bingsong, Marketing Director at Shanghai Fuhui Enterprise Development Co., Ltd., expressed concern over the lack of a sustainable profit model. While foreign companies often complain about plagiarism, they struggle to protect their patents due to the absence of registration in China. Even when styles are copied, Chinese firms often improve functionality, making enforcement difficult. Zhu added that, in practice, infringement is usually just a warning, with no real consequences.
Despite these challenges, some companies are focusing on protecting core technologies. Fu Tiancheng, president of Novant (Shanghai) Office System Co., Ltd., highlighted that the largest company in the industry holds less than 1% of the market share. Although Novant saw a 30% sales increase, it still doesn't consider itself a major player. Fu emphasized that while plagiarism is common, the company’s core technology is hard to imitate. He pointed to a table in front of him, explaining that each part is manufactured by different factories, but the final assembly requires specialized knowledge.
Some leading companies are investing heavily in R&D. Huang Bingsong revealed that at least 10% of profits are allocated to research annually. Novart recently passed Greenguard certification and now holds over ten patents. Zhu Changling believes that while plagiarism exists, large companies are not afraid because imitation often fails to meet quality standards. In fact, it may even drive innovation as big firms continue to develop new products.
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