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Today, furniture reflects the feelings of a given society. Today, we live according to our possibilities – but it was not always like this. In medieval times, comfortable living and comfortable furniture were the prerogative of the highest class of society – the members of the aristocracy. The aristocracy were considered an unattainable model in terms of quality and elegance. The peasants took their examples from the landowners and feudal lords, the day labourers from the
peasants. But the peasants had virtually nothing but a sack of straw to sleep on, an open fire for cooking, a simple clothes chest, a chair and a table. It was not until the French Revolution that the peasant classes finally became
emancipated. After that, their style of dwelling was revolutionised, too. Homes and furniture acquired a value that was universal and no longer elite, a value that endured for more than two centuries. Only during the last ten years – and
this is entirely our own fault – has the cultural asset furniture undergone an enormous loss in value. This can be expressed – and statistically demonstrated – as follows: when furniture was more expensive than now, more furniture was sold – or, to put it another way: the cheaper furniture becomes, the less furniture is sold. A dreadful spiral effect. Unfortunately, the consumers have been excessively spoiled by this effect, which has occurred not only in our industry.
They believe that if they buy too soon, they will be financially punished later, when the special offers come up. A fatal error, because in this way, the true value of products – as contrasted with the price – is pushed into the background.
Eliminate flooded markets – boost the economy with good design
One possibility of preventing falling prices, we believe, is to be found in the wide, growing interest in design. Design is a theme of the future, which we must obviously take as our starting point. For a long time, “shaping” and “forming” were in the foreground of design activities. Today, furniture design must be seen in its entirety. This means that elements such as function, ergonomics, tactile effect, serviceability, ecology and hence quality must be given more attention in the future. Here, individual taste and personal aesthetic feeling will be of advantage to us – because in this way, the furniture industry can show how versatile it is in terms of design and production. Then, it will no longer be possible to talk of unified design, style or trends. Of course, there will always be some colours, forms or functions that are especially popular – but no more uniform look. This is true in many other areas of consumer goods, too – for example, in the foods industry. Design in this sense particularly applies to the innovative power of the German furniture manufacturers and the industry. Innovation must continue to be the motive force for us in the future. Without innovation, form is nothing but
cosmetic application. Scope for innovation is to be found in the function, application or use, in the very feeling inspired by an article of furniture, in the material and in the workmanship. It is here that the industry must invest, in order to remain always a step ahead of international competition. It is very gratifying to see that people’s consciousness of design is increasing and becoming more appreciated. This applies not only to our products, but also to many other consumer goods – and even investment goods. Apparently, even boiler manufacturers are employing designers. And that is a good thing.
Upturn in the living room – men discover the pleasures of fine living
It is also good to see that the interest in fine living and furnishings in general is on the increase. And at last among men, also. As a rule, men still do not make the purchasing decision, this being left to the ladies, as before, but their general interest and “interference” where the living room is concerned increased considerably last year. This can be attributed to the overall trend towards “homing,” which has still not yet reached its peak. Homing is an expression of the desire for feeling safe and secure in one’s own home. And where it is a question of making oneself comfortable at home, there are many current furnishing themes among last year’s developments which men find important, perhaps due to their male primeval interest. For one thing, there is the “medialisation” of the living room: this comes from the techno-electronic world and is exemplified by the practice of fitting out the living room with DVD player and amplifier systems. Then, there is the growing preference among men for branded furniture. Just as with tools, cars and motorbikes, football clubs, cigarettes and watches – with furniture, too, men prefer certain brands. Men like branded furniture, as shown by a recent market survey carried out by BBE Consulting. A brand, and the marketing strategy behind it, make it easier for men to take a purchasing decision. Whereas with no-name products, the advantages and sales arguments, prices and service
performance have to be compared among several products, it is an easy matter to choose a branded product without much consideration. What counts here is the reliability of the purchaser’s own experience and also the reliability suggested by the image of a reputed name. This is a good reason for the German furniture manufacturers to approach the awakening target group “Men” by stabilising and extending their own brand names. Today, seven out of ten men have an interest in living ambiences and in furnishings. So much interest has never been displayed by men before. But only 15% of them actually buy furniture. The modern man thus represents a huge power reserve for the German furniture retail trade, and needs to be addressed effectively.
Individuality preferred
Altogether, the wide variety in furniture will continue to increase due to the individuality demands of the consumer. Individualism is also characterised by a selective array of price classes. The consumer can live in luxury in certain
aspects while living modestly in others. The polarisation of available goods into top quality products and low-price mass-produced articles will continue to grow. The customer is patently more critical and determines the range of
goods available much more strongly than in previous years. Products which he does not like can no longer be sold as low-priced, so-called “non-sellers”. Today, he can no longer be so easily persuaded by advertising means. He
needs to be addressed emotionally, in the marketing campaign and at the point-of-sale. It has become more and more difficult to convince him with rational criteria. But the customer’s interest in what is new, has grown. Parallel
to this development, the theme of design has moved into the foreground. The former wide front of the disinterested – people to whom design meant nothing – is clearly diminishing. Products need at least one aspect of design, for example beauty of form, in order to have any chance at all in the market.
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