Retail sales of furniture home stores in the United States continued to grow, exceeding $100 billion (
All the amounts in this article are in the United StatesS. dollars)in 2003 (U. S.
Census Bureau 2005).
However, during the period from 2000 to 2003, the value of domestic furniture decreased steadily by more than $5 billion (Fig. 1).
The gap between domestic consumption and production is filled by more and more furniture imports (Fig. 2).
The main reason for the increase in the market share of imported furniture is the increase in the competitive power of foreign furniture manufacturers (ITA 1999).
With more and more countries willing to trade and able to trade, competition around the world has intensified, and each country has developed its own way to help local industries compete for market share.
In the manufacture of wooden furniture, the labor force accounts for 40% of the total manufacturing cost (
Whelan and Maklari 2002). In pastU. S.
From New England to Michigan to Indiana, North Carolina and Mississippi, the cost of furniture manufacturing is rising;
The same forces work in the world (Raymond 2004).
China overtook Canada as the largest furniture exporter in the United States.
Mexico also costs more Labor than China.
Low pursuit
The cost Labor moved from Taiwan to Malaysia, then to Indonesia, and recently to Vietnam.
In 2001, imports accounted for 43% of the wooden furniture sold in the United States, and the import share increased by twice the domestic sales in the past 10 years (Evans 2002).
These foreign companies put cheap labor and
Mechanical and efficient materials
Handling equipment for competitive advantage. Raymond (2002)
This shows that for the wood furniture industry in the United States, the only option to remain competitive is to use half
Customized and fast order fulfillment strategy.
This paper discusses various competitive strategies of furniture manufacturers and their home countries.
Unless otherwise specified, when we refer to furniture, we refer to home furniture (SIC251)
Office furniture (SIC 252)And fixtures (SIC 2542).
Customer satisfaction, price, innovation and shareholder satisfaction are the main success factors identified by publicly held US companiesS.
manufacturer.
Cheap labor, modern technology, raw material acquisition, knowledge mixing
How and the favorable exchange rate brings a competitive advantage to foreign competitors.
In addition, most foreign manufacturers are strongly supported by the government.
In North and South America in this region, Canada is the largest furniture exporter in the United States (Table 1).
In 2004, Canada\'s furniture exports to the United States amounted to nearly $4 billion, or $5.
4 percentage points less than the peak in 2000 (ITA 2005).
According to Cahoon (2003)
96% of Canadian furniture exports went to the United States. S. markets.
In addition to product quality and domestic supply of hard wood from North America as the main source of raw materials, close relationships and outstanding business relationships with the United States are other major success factors.
In addition, the manufacturing structure of Canada is very similar to that of the United States. S.
industry. Seventy-
Canadian furniture produced in Ontario and Quebec accounted for five percentage points.
Canada\'s exports fell in 2002, down from 2001.
The main reason for this decline is the increased competition from Malaysian manufacturers (Patterson 2004).
Mexico is the second.
Largest furniture exporter in the United States ($1.
2004 9 billion(ITA 2005).
Cheap labor is combined with the use of the United States. S. hardwoods (
95% of the wood imported from Mexico is from the United States. Zertuche2003])
Good trade relations have put Mexican furniture manufacturers in a favorable position.
However, the use of hard wood from the United States can reduce the cost of the manufacturing process. competitive.
Brazil, Argentina and Chile are the only countries in South America to export large quantities of furniture to the United States.
Brazil is one of the most important sources of growth for US furniture exports.
The Brazilian authorities have launched an intensive campaign to persuade the US governmentS.
European market for Brazilian furniture (Silva 2004).
Since 1996, Brazilian furniture exports to the United States have increased by 541% to $0. 379 billion in 2004 (ITA2005).
Over the past six years, the Brazilian industry has undergone structural changes and has improved its competitive power through technology and investment,
There is a single digit increase every year.
The weakening of Brazil\'s currency has accelerated Brazil\'s furniture exports to other currencies.
In Chile, forest resources have been growing at an accelerated pace as forest resources are in good condition.
Plan the policy of afforestation (Table 2).
Chile produced 37 in 2001. 8 billion [m. sup. 3](Hennicke 2004)of round-
Timber exports are about $2.
21 billion forest products.
exported to the United States is $26.
The 1996and rate of 9 million $61 million can reach 2004.
Chilean furniture exports to the United States (
127% growth since 1996)
Not growing at the pace of Brazil, this upward trend is expected to continue in the next few years (ITA 2005).
Italy is Europe\'s largest exporter of furniture to the United States, worth $1.
2004 18 billion.
Germany came second with $0. 209 billion.
Denmark came third with $0. 178 billion, Britain followed by $0. 146 billion, France followed by $0. 137 billion, and Poland followed by $0. 107 billion (Table 1). With only 0.
2 hectares/per capita forest land (
One of the lowest in Europe)
Italy is forced to import 80 percent of the wood needed for furniture manufacturing (Besozzi 2003).
However, the productivity of the Italian furniture industry is very high.
In 2000, the value of the Italian furniture industry was $36 billion.
According to toBesozzi (2003)
In 2000, there were more than 38,000 furniture enterprises and more than 226,000 workers in the Italian furniture industry.
Due to the relatively high cost of raw materials, one of the most important success factors in this industry is the formulation of a reasonable pricing policy (Table3).
In addition, the Italian furniture industry conducts research on new materials, innovative materials, practical solutions and improved performance for all household items.
In recent years, Italian wood furniture companies have become more and more like \"fitters\" and less like \"producers \"(Besozzi2003). [
Figure 1 slightly][
Figure 2:
Germany experienced 122% growth between 1996 and 2004.
German furniture production is $20.
2000 6 billion;
16% of them are used in export markets.
Most of German wood furniture is exported to the United States. in the United States, the quality of wood furniture is very popular.
The German furniture industry is integrating, with about 1,300 furniture companies in 2003, down from 1,400 in 2002 (Achilles 2004).
Denmark and the United Kingdom (Table 3)
Raw materials must be imported from overseas to supply furniture production.
High material and labor costs make these European countries less competitive in price.
However, Danish furniture is still recognized as a top product.
80% of Danish furniture production ($3.
2004 2 billion
Mainly exported to Japan and the Nordic countries, accounting for more than 50% of bilateral trade (
International Labor Organization 2002, Kristensen and Perkins 2003).
Danish manufacturers are beginning to outsource more materials and production to neuroerneurope (Kristens 2004).
The UK is losing market share, mainly in Asian and East Asian countries with lower wages. U. K.
Exports to the United States have fallen by 33% since they peaked in 2000.
This led to the United States. K.
The furniture industry will focus on high quality niche markets where prices are not the main problem (
Ayala and Bicknell 2002).
As an example of increasing pressure from Eastern European countries on the United StatesK.
Poland joined the European Union, making Poland one of the largest furniture producers in Europe.
Most furniture is exported ($3.
2003 5 billion
Although the strong Polish currency at the end of 2004 slowed exports to a certain extent (
Konuszewska 2005).
In 2002, the gross domestic product of French furniture was $3. 3 billion.
Promotion and use of the United StatesS.
Using hardwood floors as raw materials (
Consumption in the United StatesS.
Estimated about 100,000 [hardwood floors]m. sup. 3]annually)
The support of the French government is a key success factor for French competitors in the US market. S. market (Table 3).
However, the French furniture company is small (
Of the 900 wood products companies in France, only 35,000 employ 20 or more workers)
They do not have enough resources to increase production capacity and reduce costs through economies of scale, which has a negative impact on the French furniture industry (Audran 2002).
Major furniture exporters in Asia are listed in Table 4.
In 2001, China surpassed Canada to become the largest furniture exporter in the United States.
Since 1996, Chinese furniture exports have increased by 836% from $0.
$95 billion to $8.
9 billion (Table 1).
The main reason China sells to the United States is the low production cost.
Key success factors for China are low wages, government support, marketing strategies, and sustained economic growth and improved living standards, which attract foreign capital to invest in furniture manufacturing facilities.
Chinese furniture manufacturers pay 23 times less than in the United States. S. wages (Table 5)(ILO 2003). The U. S.
Tariffs on Chinese furniture imports fell from 7 to 7. 3 to 3.
2003 7%Lei 2004).
In addition, the RMB exchange rate is not floating, but fixed in the United States. S.
The dollar is believed to be artificially low, thus benefiting Chinese goods in the United States. S. market.
In addition, the Chinese furniture industry is also very competitive in terms of quality, material and manufacturing efficiency.
Although the quality of their furniture was not high 2 to 3 years ago, today China made the world-
First-class product quality.
The supply of raw materials is an important limiting factor for Chinese furniture manufacturers because the industry relies heavily on imported wood (
Xiufang beans 2002).
By 2010, China is expected to surpass Italy as the world\'s number one producer.
1 Production and exporter of wood furniture in the world (Lei 2004).
Taiwan\'s furniture exports decreased by 32% during the period from 1996 to 2004 (Table 6).
The main reason for the decline is the increase in wages in Taiwan\'s manufacturing industry.
That\'s why many Taiwanese companies have decided to relocate to other Asian countries such as China and Vietnam. Miller 2004).
Although the growth rate is lower than that of China, Malaysia and the Philippines have increased their furniture exports to the United States by 59 and 28% respectively in the past nine years (Table 6).
Their strategy includes the combination of Cork and hard wood as raw materials, low wages and strong exports --
Policy Orientation (Hoh 2004).
Many overseas furniture buyers believe that the Philippines is the center of creative furniture design in Asia (Corpuz 2005).
The Indonesian furniture industry has received great help from the Indonesian government.
The main strategy for the Indonesian government to help the industry is to set up a marketing committee to promote products and develop new markets.
Today, 50% of Indonesia\'s timber products are plywood, and the Indonesian government\'s strategy is to create more value.
Added products such as fancy plywood, scrap boards and furniture (Alam 2004).
The industry has diversified in Thailand, especially in Thailand.
Manufacturing oriented (
70% of production for export).
The main importer of wood from Thailand is the United States (37%), Japan (27%)
And European countries (15%)(
Preechajarn 2004).
Vietnam is perhaps the most impressive exporter of emerging furniture.
Its furniture sales in the United States increased from $253,000 in 1996 to $0. 375 billion in 2004 (Table 1).
Although the number is not the largest, it represents the most positive growth in furniture exports to the United States over the past decade.
As wages are even lower than in China, more than 60 foreign wood products companies have invested between £ 1996 and £ 2002 in Vietnam (
Oung and Dao 2002)
Aim to reduce manufacturing costs.
More than 1,500 of wood
There are 2 processing locations with potential capacity in Vietnam. 8 million [m. sup. 3]in 2004 (Dao 2005)
However, the actual operating efficiency is only about 50%.
According to the Vietnamese government\'s estimate, the export volume of Vietnam\'s wood products industry will reach US $1 billion in 2010.
Oung and Dao 2002).
The successful rise of Vietnam\'s timber and furniture industry is due to several factors, including the Vietnamese government\'s intervention plan to accelerate the growth of the solid wood products industry, the upgrading of technology and equipment, and is one of the lowest wage countries in the manufacturing industry.
The main driving force for discussing the development of competitive strategies for US furniture exporters is: low
Cost labor, efficient communication system, increased stability and government support, low production cost, imported solid wood, well-known foreign enterprises
How and invest, active promotional activities, quality signs, development of alternative materials, education of workers and high productivity.
Other factors that may provide competitive advantage but are not explored in this study include currency exchange rates, environmental regulations, and worker benefits. Quesada (2004)
The financial performance of more than 100
hotel furniture factory companies in the United States, Europe and Asia was analyzed.
He described the financial performance of liquidity (
Fast ratio, current ratio, working capital and total assets)
Operation efficiency (
Revenue before profits and taxes and operating income of total assets)
And capital turnover (
Sales to inventory and sales to total assets).
In his study, Quesada showed that liquidity was the most important measure when comparing the financial performance of furniture companies.
It is the best indicator of the company\'s ability to fulfill its financial obligations. While U. S.
The company has maintained a high level of liquidity, but the level of liquidity has declined slightly. Europe and Asia have adjusted their performance mainly through lean manufacturing practices in the past five years by reducing inventory to increase liquidity.
Over the past two years, companies in the three regions have reached similar levels of liquidity.
The second most important financial measure is operational efficiency. S.
The company performed best, while companies in Europe and Asia performed similarly, but lower.
The United States and Europe outperformed Asia in terms of capital flows.
This may also reflect the fact that most of Asia\'s products are sold in the United States and Europe, thus taking up additional weeks of capital during transportation.
Still, Asia seems to be improving its performance while the US and Europe remain stable.
The final observation may suggest that Asian companies are growing in strength, especially in the past three years.
Isa da (2004), domestic U. S.
manufacturers define key success factors from four dimensions: 1)
Customer satisfaction; 2)
Internal operations; 3)
Innovation and growth; and 4)
Satisfied shareholders.
Specifically, he found that service, performance, quality, and price are key success factors in the kitchencibinet industry. In the house-
The most critical success factors in the furniture industry are quality, innovation, customer service, price, outsourcing, retail distribution, product operation and marketing.
Key success factors in the office furniture industry are product performance, customer service, quality, price, retail distribution, product operation and innovation.
Companies in the kitchen cabinets and office furniture industry seem to be less likely to be eliminated
Executed by Asian manufacturers.
The key success factor that these departments may have is service.
Cabinet products provide design services to integrate cabinets into the overall kitchen design.
Office furniture industry often provides full
Office organization system.
Customers of Office efurniture increasingly need ready-made solutions, including design, planning, production, delivery and installation.
On the other hand, the home furniture industry is more inclined to the product itself.
Many services that may be part of a home furniture solution but are not part of it today are currently not readily available by Asian competitors (
Sada 2004, Schuler and Buehlmann2003).
Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the United StatesS.
Table 7 summarizes the furniture industry.
Schuler and Burman (2003)
Provide the best assessment of the future strategy of the United States to dateS.
In order to regain its competitive power,
hotel furniture factory manufacturers must follow suit: mass customization, new manufacturing strategies, remodeling of
hotel furniture factory, new sales channels and innovations.
The authors are associate professors at Purdue University.
, West Lafayette, IN (gazo@purdue. edu)
Assistant Professor, College of Industrial Engineering, College of Technology, katago, elder brother (Henquesada @ itcr ). ac. cr).
This article has been peer reviewed.
Dr. Achilles. 2004.
Germany: 2004 solid wood products per year.
S. Department of Agriculture Global Agricultural Information Network report gm4052. www. fas. usda.
The default is gov/scriperep. asp.
Visit July 1, 2005. Alam, N. 2004.
Indonesia: 2004 of solid wood products per year.
Id4020 report of US Agricultural Information Networkwww. fas. usda.
The default is gov/scriperep. asp.
Visit July 1, 2005. Audran, X. 2002.
France: 2002 of solid wood products per year.
USDAGlobal Agricultural Information Network reported fr1094. www. fas. usda.
The default is gov/scriperep. asp.
Visit July 1, 2005. Ayala, D. and P. Bicknell. 2002.
UK: 2001 solid wood products per year.
USDA Global Agricultural Information Network report uk1043. www. fas. usda.
The default is gov/scriperep. asp.
Visit July 1, 2005. Besozzi, W. 2003.
Italy: 2003 of solid wood products per year.
S. agricultural information network reported 30. www. fas. usda.
The default is gov/scriperep. asp.
Visit July 1, 2005. Cahoon, M. 2003.
Canada: 2002 annualized solid wood products.
USDAGlobal Agricultural Information Network reported CA2146. www. fas. usda.
The default is gov/scriperep. asp.
Visit July 1, 2005. Corpuz, P. 2005.
Philippines: 2005 annualized solid wood products.
Rp5024 USDAGlobal Agricultural Information Network reported. www. fas. usda.
The default is gov/scriperep. asp.
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Vietnam: 2005 Annual solid wood products.
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The default is gov/scriperep. asp.
Visit July 1, 2005. Evans, M. 2002.
The triad furniture company is facing new import threats.
Business magazines in the greater Sanhe region.
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Ci4034 reported on the Agricultural Information Network. www. fas. usda.
The default is gov/scriperep. asp.
Visit July 1, 2005. Houng, T. B. and T. M. Dao. 2002.
Vietnam: 2001 solid wood products per year.
USDA Global Agricultural Information Network report vm1024. www. fas. usda.
The default is gov/scriperep. asp.
Visit July 1, 2005. Hoh, R. 2004.
Malaysia: 2004 of solid wood products per year.
USDAGlobal Agricultural Information Network reported my4032. www. fas. usda.
The default is gov/scriperep. asp.
Visit July 1, 2005.
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Visit July 1, 2005. ______. 2005.
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Visit July 1, 2005.
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Poland: 2005 of solid wood products per year.
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The default is gov/scriperep. asp.
Visit July 1, 2005. Kristensen, H. 2004.
Danish solid wood products 2004 years.
Da4007 report of US Agricultural Information Networkwww. fas. usda.
The default is gov/scriperep. asp.
Visit July 1, 2005. ______ and M. Perkins. 2002.
Solid wood products in Denmark
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Visit July 1, 2005. Lei, Z. 2004.
China: 2004 pieces of solid wood are produced annually.
USDA Global Agricultural Information Network reportwww. fas. usda.
The default is gov/scriperep. asp.
Visit July 1, 2005. Miller, J. 2004.
Taiwan: 2004 solid wood products per year.
USDAGlobal Agricultural Information Network report tw4032. www. fas. usda.
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Visit July 1, 2005. Patterson, C. 2004.
Canada: 2004 annualized solid wood products.
Ca4080 report of USDAGlobal Agricultural Information Network. www. fas. usda.
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Visit July 1, 2005. ______. 2004.
Labor costs are rising in China.
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