Page 16 - FDMAsia May/Jun 2026

14 FEATURES MAY/JUN 2026 FDM ASIA | www.fdmasia.com

ASIAN FURNITURE MAKERS AT A

CROSSROADS: THE NEXT DECADE WILL

REDEFINE THE INDUSTRY

Asian furniture manufacturers are facing growing challenges from rising material costs, labour
shortages, sustainability regulations, supply chain instability, and changing consumer preferences.
The traditional model of competing mainly on low-cost production is becoming less effective.
Manufacturers must adapt by investing in automation, sustainable sourcing, digital technologies,
product innovation, and brand development. By Aileen Yeo

or decades, the formula seemed almost unbeatable. unlike anything it has faced before.
Build factories close to timber supplies, keep labour Rising timber prices, labour shortages, sustainability
Fcosts competitive, manufacture at scale, and ship demands, geopolitical uncertainty, and changing consumer
container loads of wooden furniture to the rest of the world. tastes are reshaping the economics of furniture manufacturing.

From sprawling industrial parks in China to export-driven The old playbook is no longer enough.
manufacturing clusters in Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia, Across Asia, furniture makers are discovering that surviving
Asia became the engine room of the global furniture business. the next decade will require something more difficult than
Walk into homes in New York, London, Dubai, or Sydney, mass production: reinvention.
and chances are high that the dining table, wardrobe, office
desk, or TV console was made somewhere in Asia. The End Of Cheap And Easy Growth
But the industry that once thrived on efficiency and low- For many manufacturers, the first warning sign arrived in the

cost production is now confronting a wave of challenges form of rising costs.

2023 Robert Nickelsberg