Group: Demand for home office furniture increased during MCO

JOHOR BARU: The stay-at-home notice in the face of Covid-19 has prompted a shift in customer’s preference in furniture and homeware.

Johor Furniture Association president Ong Yeou Huan said more demand was seen for home-office furniture as well as ready-to-assemble furniture in the past four months.
 

“During the time when people were encouraged to stay home because of the pandemic and subsequent movement control order (MCO), consumers spent money on items to make their homes more comfortable and work-friendly as many were working from home,” he said.

He added that other types of furniture popular in both the local and overseas markets included dining sets, bedroom sets and solid wood-based furniture.
 

Ong said Johor’s furniture industry, which accounted for some 70% of Malaysia’s furniture production, also saw increased global spending on furniture as exports of such goods went up by 12.1% in July to RM1.51mil compared to June with RM1.34mil.

There were about 1,000 furniture producers in the state and most of them were located in Muar, he revealed.

He said Johor’s furniture industry seemed to be recovering well since Malaysia went into the recovery MCO period, as it allowed business operations and activities to resume.

He added that the state’s furniture export had been increasing steadily since 2017.

According to Malaysian Timber Industry Board, Johor exported RM6.4mil in total exports in 2019, a 21% increase from 2018 (RM5.45mil). In 2017, RM5.29mil in furniture exports was recorded.

Ong also highlighted that Johor furniture exports to the US had grown gradually, where RM3.48mil was recorded in 2019 compared to RM2.63mil in 2018.

“In this sense, we have benefitted from the US-China trade war as US buyers have diverted orders from China to South-East Asian countries.

“Our wooden furniture exports to the US have jumped by 32% year-on-year in 2019.

“As expected, Covid-19 has disrupted this year’s furniture sales and demands but we feel that the local furniture industry will continue its growth in 2021 once the global economy stabilises and recovers,” he said.

Johor’s furniture industry, he opined, had considerable advantages when it came to product creativity and design.

“Local companies are now differentiating themselves by becoming original design manufacturers (ODM) and producing high value-added pieces of creative and unique designs.

“This enables local companies to keep rising up to the challenge of stiff global competition,” he added.

https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro-news/2020/10/02/group-demand-for-home-office-furniture-increased-during-mco