Construction crisis, political turmoil, and a challenging market situation: the year 2024 was a difficult one for the German furniture and construction industries. All product categories saw a decline in sales. This also had consequences for the purchasing Garant Gruppe based in Rheda-Wiedenbrück.
© Garant Gruppe
'We closed the 2024 financial year with a 10 percent decline across the entire group,' Garant leadership confirmed. 'We had expected a stabilisation of the market, especially in the furniture sector, but due to various crises, particularly political uncertainty, the hoped-for revival in consumer sentiment did not materialise.'
While the downturn was felt across the board, individual segments fared differently. The Kitchen segment, although exposed to construction activity, showed resilience. The decline in this category remained in the single-digit range, with the company noting improvements after a difficult first quarter. 'We had already suspected at the beginning of 2024 that the difficult market situation for the Kitchen segment would continue, particularly due to its strong ties to construction development, which unfortunately turned out to be true. Accordingly, we are satisfied that we were at least able to outperform the market in this segment overall,' management stated.
Similarly, the Sleeping segment, especially bed specialists, saw only a small single-digit decrease in sales, performing "encouragingly well overall." However, sharper contractions were observed in the Residential and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) sectors. 'This development for our HVAC association, Bad + Haus, was to be expected after the disproportionately high, significant double-digit increase in the previous year,' explained Managing Director Hendrik Schütte. 'After the boost that the heating sector, in particular, received in 2023 due to subsidies, a trend reversal was to be expected in the following year. The noticeable upturn in the bathroom and sanitary sector was not yet able to offset this with corresponding growth in 2024.'
Looking forward, the Garant Gruppe expressed cautious optimism. 'The increase in new mortgage contracts since the beginning of last year gives reason to hope for stabilisation, as does the government coalition's announcement to support housing construction. We hope this will have positive effects, although we must assume that measurable effects are unlikely until 2026,' said Managing Director Torsten Goldbecker. In response Garant has joined the "Germany's Domestic Economic Power" initiative to advocate for the sector's importance and push for policy action.
Some green shoots have already been observed. Trade partners at ERFA spring conferences reported growing order volumes since the beginning of the year, albeit in a fiercely competitive pricing environment. 'This is another reason to look to the 2025 fiscal year with cautious optimism,' said Managing Director Jens Hölper.
Despite the turbulence, strategic initiatives yielded positive results. 'In the kitchen sector, we have already achieved measurable success in lead generation and sales closings with our new campaign concept... In our Good Sleep Association, we have successfully integrated the ABK members... And with the relaunch of our LIVA Wohnen collection brand, we were able to increase collection sales by 9 percent despite the declining market.'
For 2025, Garant aims to match the prior year's figures, while acknowledging that "a further slight decline is not unlikely" in light of ongoing political and market volatility.
More information:
Garant Gruppe
www.garant-gruppe.de