In two weeks, the Rho Fiera Milano will open Furniture expo. On this great event, which from 8 to 13 April, together with the Fuorisalone, will bring tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world to the Fair and to the city, threatening clouds are gathering. Weighing down are the global market crisis and duties promised by Donald Trump on Made in Europe. At the moment, the EU has decided to postpone the countermove, in an attempt to find a way to defuse the crisis.
These tariffs, however, have already hit Made in China, Canada and Mexico, traditional exporters of furniture to the United States. Recently, the US president declared: "I will bring furniture manufacturing back to North Carolina. All that business has gone to other countries and now it will come back here".
American furniture makers deny Trump
Shannon Williams, CEO of Home Furnishings Association, which brings together American furniture manufacturers with a market value of over 150 billion dollars (of which about 33 billion come from imports), responded promptly. It stressed that the 800 manufacturers di furnishings remaining in North Carolina are almost entirely dependent on semi-finished products imported from China, Canada and Mexico. And prices are already rising.
“None of the CEOs of the major furniture manufacturers that have outsourced and supply the United States have any intention of bringing manufacturing or assembly back to the United States, due to tariffs on raw materials, components, high labor costs and a lack of employable workers,” Williams said. In fact, he added wryly, many companies American they are transferring la production elsewhere to avoid the heavy damage of the counter dutiesIronically, North Carolina is the American state that has recorded the greatest growth in Italian furniture imports, with an increase of over 50%.
Italian records at risk
Few people know that the Made in Italy: represents 4,3% of the cheap imports Usa of construction products (e.g., tiles) and 1,4% of US imports of finished household goods (such as appliances and furniture). A very significant figure.
In the furniture sector, Italy, with exports of 1,8 billion dollars, is among the main suppliers of the United States, behind only the Asian giants, Mexico and Canada, but first among European countries. Furthermore, in the medium-high and high design categories, our country is a world leader.
Furniture purchases slow down
In 2024, the Italian domestic market, according to the preliminary figures of theStudies Office of FederlegnoArredo, recorded a 3,5% drop for the entire wood-furniture supply chain, while exports fell by 2,3%.
On these very current issues, FIRST online interviewed the president of FederlegnoArredo, Claudio Feltrin.
"We are sailing, so to speak, by sight. Consumers are reflecting on their purchasing habits in a period of economic difficulty. However, the attractiveness of high-end furniture products, which are part of the three leading Italian 'F's' - Furniture, Food, Fashion - remains intact."
What worries you more: the decline in domestic and foreign demand or Trump's threats?
"A 3,5% decline is still limited, considering the current economic and geopolitical context and compared to what we could have expected. Also because it is mainly due to the reduction in incentives. We can say that, as in other periods, the supply chain as a whole has been able to navigate better than other sectors. Industrial production in 2024, for example, differs only slightly from that of 2019."
You yourself recently stated that the economic crises in Germany and France and the possible entry of Chinese products into our markets, a consequence of the introduction of American duties, could put companies to the test in the first months of 2025.
“Certainly. However, in the face of a decline in European purchases, in the period January-October 2024 the entire supply chain increased sales in the United States by 3,5%, while exports to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia grew by double digits. In detail, the Furniture macro-sector suffered a more contained decline: -2,8% in domestic sales and -2,1% in exports”.
Could we lose some positions in this world ranking?
“Because of the duties, yes, but indirectly, because China will pour into Europe the surplus of household products that it will no longer be able to sell in the US. This means that geopolitical dynamics are changing the markets very quickly, while companies in our sector operate with medium-long timescales, despite being more dynamic than others. Behind the success of Made in Italy in the US there has been a long work, built with great dedication. If this market collapses, it would be very serious for us. China, which before Covid was one of the most promising markets for our sector, is now at a standstill. And before that, we lost the Russian market, which until 2014 was very open to our Made in Italy”.
What do we need for faster responses? AI perhaps?
"We definitely need to use an accelerator to adapt our companies to these changes. And one of the most useful tools is artificial intelligence, which is a formidable tool for accessing data, statistics and information very quickly, with greater agility, to develop products quickly. In the meantime, European associations have finally obtained from the European Commission the necessary simplification of the regulatory frameworks regarding the set of regulations against deforestation, which was blocking all European industrial chains.
The European Deforestation-free Products Regulation (Eudr) has been postponed...
“Let it be clear, however, that our companies are firmly committed to investments in eco-sustainability, but they could not accept unsustainable rushes forward”.
Despite opposition from Northern European countries?
“Yes, despite the opposition of countries that do not have industrial chains, but service networks… Not coincidentally, these have recorded, in the face of the manufacturing crisis in the rest of Europe, great growth in logistics hubs for the colossal arrivals of goods from Asia…”.
Could international tensions and consumer crises have caused defections by exhibitors and operators?
“No. The Salone is the global distillate of design, it exerts an extraordinary attraction; exhibiting in the pavilions of Rho Fiera is the most powerful access key for the business of the sector. Today, more than ever, there is a need for the Salone del Mobile. Also in 2024 and in these months, we have repeated our activities to promote the Salone with a great deal of work all over the world. Last year, in fact, the arrival of foreign operators recorded a 30% growth”.
But do you really think that in a period of so much geopolitical uncertainty, visitors will increase further?
"No, but because instead of the biennial Eurocucina, which always has a strong influx of visitors, there is Euroluce. In any case everything will be fine, the export of Euroluce, for example, reaches 75 percent, as will the bathroom sector".
Once again, the large American groups and funds that have bought several historic Italian brands are present only in a few showrooms, also because it is said that they have some budget difficulties…
“The facts demonstrate that if you want to export, exhibiting at the Salon is an essential condition.”
In 2025 the Italian housing system
The atmosphere among the big names of Italian design that are going strong in North America it is not heavy, also because on the one hand the first months of 2025 are characterized by great uncertainties, but on the other hand there could already be an increase in orders for the warehouse, by importers, distributors and the American real estate world to avoid the increases induced by duties. And then, as it emerges from the directions of the flows of imports from Italy of the home system, these are particular sectors, where the execution, the materials, the requirements of uniqueness and high level count more than anything else: the horizontal and vertical gated communities for high spenders, both outside and inside the big cities, the contract and in particular the hotel and hospitality sector, or Premium tourism, including the nautical sector. In all these areas, the origin from Italy is a must have, practically a guarantee.
