Business and industry in Norway - The furniture and furnishing industry

Number of companies	469
Number of employees	9126
This sector’s export share	30
Gross product in percentage	0,62

The furniture and furnishing industry has developed from being a typical craft type of industry into a modern one. Traditionally, this finished-goods industry has been oriented towards the domestic market, but there has been a considerable export of Norwegian brand names, such as the Tripp Trapp chair, over the past few years. The restructuring taking place is in favour of larger but fewer units. Geographically speaking, the largest furniture manufacturers are located in the counties of Møre og Romsdal and Sogn og Fjordane, but such companies are also to be found all over Norway. In 1998, Norway exported furniture to the value of NOK 2.6 billion. The Norwegian furniture industry places great emphasis on design and product development, and has experienced a fantastic growth in exports over the past 10 years, cf the figure. Sweden and Germany are Norway’s largest export markets.

The furniture industry makes or restores all kinds of furniture and furnishings, and can be divided into various segments, such as the kitchen, bathroom, hallway/wardrobe, home-furniture and office-furniture sectors. Norwegian companies supply around 50 per cent of the demand in the domestic market.

Company	Product
Ekornes	Home furniture
Håg	Office furniture
The Stokke Group	Home and office furniture
Hjellegjerde	Home furniture
Norema	Kitchen and hallway/wardrobe furniture

The export trend for furniture, 1988-1998, based on the Statistics Norway volume index (1988=100).

The gross product is based on the figures for furniture and other industrial production, cf the industry statistics. Back >