China-US Office Furniture Trade Trends: Key Company Insights

With the continuous expansion of the business environment, office furniture is becoming increasingly important. Especially in countries such as the United States, China and India, the number of renovation and transformation projects is constantly increasing, which has driven the growth of the market.
According to data from research firm Mordor Intelligence, the global office furniture market size is expected to be 65.02 billion US dollars in 2024, and the size of the Chinese office furniture market is expected to be 37.24 billion US dollars.
This issue's "Today's Home Furnishing Financial Report Interpretation" column, based on the original data from the General Administration of Customs of China and the United States International Trade Commission, conducts an in-depth analysis of the import and export data of office furniture between China and the United States, as well as the import and export trends of office furniture and the profitability of enterprises. It also combines five listed office furniture companies - Henglin Co., LTD., Lego Co., LTD., Yongyi Co., LTD., Jiechang Drive, and Kaidi Co., LTD. Search for the golden track behind the data.
 
I. China's Office Furniture Exports: Is Metal Furniture Growing the Fastest?
 
China is an important exporter of office furniture worldwide. From the perspective of export categories, in 2024:
The export value of wooden office furniture (excluding chairs) in China was 1.451 billion US dollars, increasing by 13.51% year-on-year, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.1% (2022-2024).
The export value of metal furniture for offices (excluding chairs) was 1.118 billion US dollars, increasing by 19.96% year-on-year. The CAGR (2022-2024) was 21.2%, making it the fastest-growing category of office furniture exports in the past three years.
The export value of wooden adjustable-height swivel chairs was 50.47 million US dollars, increasing by 23.73% year-on-year, with a CAGR (2022-2024) of 3.3%.
The export value of non-wooden adjustable height rotating chairs was 3.902 billion US dollars, increasing by 6.06% year-on-year, with a CAGR (2022-2024) of 6.7%.
 
Let's take a look at the imports of office furniture in the United States in 2024:
The import value of wooden furniture for office use (excluding chairs) in the United States was 872 million US dollars, increasing by 3.98% year-on-year, with a CAGR (2022-2024) of -3%.
The import value of metal furniture for offices (excluding chairs) was 981 million US dollars, increasing by 17.66% year-on-year, with a CAGR (2022-2024) of 1.87%.
The import value of wooden adjustable-height swivel chairs was 81.56 million US dollars, increasing by 4.19% year-on-year, with a CAGR (2022-2024) of -12.04%.
The import value of non-wooden adjustable height swivel chairs was 1.338 billion US dollars, increasing by 13.47% year-on-year, with a CAGR (2022-2024) of -1.95%.
Despite achieving synchronous growth in 2024 under the interference of the US tariff stick, the compound annual growth rate of all categories has turned negative over the past three years. Only office metal furniture (excluding chairs) has achieved positive growth.
 
Canada is the largest source of office furniture imports for the United States, followed by China.
The important source countries of office wooden furniture (excluding chairs) ranked by import value proportion are: Canada 42%, China 22%, Vietnam 9%, and Mexico 6%.
The important source countries of metal furniture for offices (excluding chairs), ranked by the proportion of import value: Canada 42%, China 21%, Mexico 7%, Vietnam 3%.
The important source countries of the wooden adjustable height swivel chair, ranked by the proportion of import value: Canada 41%, Vietnam 22%, China 21%, Mexico 10%.
The important source countries of non-wooden adjustable height swivel chairs, ranked by import value proportion, are: Vietnam 36%, China 26%, Mexico 23%, and Canada 7%.
Second, the top five listed players in China: Henglin has broken through the 10 billion yuan mark, and Lego's growth rate leads the industry
 
In 2024, all five office furniture enterprises achieved positive revenue growth. Among them, Henglin Co., Ltd. had a revenue of 11.029 billion yuan, breaking the 10 billion yuan mark for the first time and being the only office furniture enterprise to enter the "10 Billion Players" list of Today's home furnishing, with a year-on-year revenue growth of 34.59%.
Extended Reading: Officially Released: The List of the Top 9 "Billion-yuan Players" in China's Home Building Materials Industry in 2024!
The revenue of Lego Co., Ltd. was 5.67 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 45.33%.
Yongyi Co., Ltd. achieved a revenue of 4.749 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 34.22%.
Jiechang Drive's revenue was 3.652 billion yuan, increasing by 20.37% year-on-year.
Kaidi Co., Ltd. achieved a revenue of 1.336 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 8.25%.
 
We continue to break down the revenue data from the product structure. The revenue of Henglin Co., LTD. 's office furniture products in 2024 was 3.553 billion yuan, accounting for 32%. The revenue of new material flooring was 1.533 billion yuan, accounting for 14%. Revenue from soft furniture was 1.427 billion yuan, accounting for 13%, and revenue from panel furniture was 1.022 billion yuan, accounting for 9%. Revenue from other comprehensive home furnishings was 3.463 billion yuan, accounting for 32%.
 
Lego Co., Ltd. has been firmly grasping its dual main businesses of smart home and overseas warehouses. Among them, the revenue of ergonomic series products in 2024 was 2.859 billion yuan, accounting for 50.43%. Revenue from warehousing and logistics services was 2.423 billion yuan, accounting for 42.74%.
 
Yongyi Co., LTD. 's revenue from office chairs in 2024 was 3.416 billion yuan, accounting for 71.92%. The revenue from sofas was 645 million yuan, accounting for 13.59%. The revenue from massage chair bodies was 240 million yuan, accounting for 5.04%. The revenue from height-adjustable desks was 90.58 million yuan, accounting for 1.91%. The revenue from leisure chairs was 35.8 million yuan, accounting for 0.75%.
 
It can be seen that Jiechang Drive and Kaidi Co., Ltd. still focus on linear drive products as their single major business at present, demonstrating their highly concentrated and focused capabilities.
Henglin's product line is already very balanced and rich, and it has long shaken off the "stereotype" of office furniture. Its outstanding performance of 1.427 billion yuan in soft furniture revenue and 1.022 billion yuan in panel furniture makes it the industry leader even in the field of civilian finished furniture.
Similarly, Lego Co., Ltd. has become a dual-driven enterprise with both office and overseas warehouses, and is no longer a simple manufacturing company.
 
(Note: As some enterprises have an "other (supplementary)" portion in addition to their domestic and overseas income, the sum of their domestic and overseas income is less than 100%.)
From the perspective of changes in domestic and foreign sales channels, the proportion of foreign sales of Henglin Co., Ltd. increased from 86.5% to 89.64% from 2020 to 2024. The proportion of exports of Lego Co., Ltd. has increased from 89.98% to 91.33%. Kaidi Co., Ltd. increased from 47.48% to 56.46%. The proportion of exports of Yongyi Co., Ltd. dropped from 78.15% to 75.93%. Jiechang Drive dropped from 77.81% to 69.42%.
In 2024, the export sales proportion of the five enterprises all exceeded 50%. Among them, the company with the highest proportion is Lego Co., LTD., with 91.33% of its revenue coming from overseas. In 2024, the company's overseas revenue was 5.179 billion yuan. By the end of 2024, Lego's operation scale had expanded from 12 self-operated overseas warehouses worldwide at the end of 2023 to 21, and the area had also increased from 289,600 square meters to 662,100 square meters. The independent website is a very important cross-border e-commerce business channel for Lego. Lego's CAGR (Overseas revenue from 2020 to 2024) was 31.4%, and its CAGR (domestic revenue from 2020 to 2024) was 26%.
In 2024, Henglin Co., Ltd. achieved an overseas revenue of 9.887 billion yuan, accounting for 89.64% of its total revenue. The proportion of overseas revenue reached a new high in recent years. Henglin currently has production bases in China, Vietnam and Switzerland. The CAGR (2020-2024, overseas revenue) is 24.5%, and the CAGR (2020-2024, domestic revenue) is 16.5%.
Yongyi Co., Ltd. achieved an overseas revenue of 3.606 billion yuan in 2024, accounting for 75.93%. The company's overseas bases are located in Vietnam and Romania. Yongyi Co., LTD., as an established foreign trade enterprise, is currently implementing a business transformation strategy that emphasizes both domestic and foreign sales, aiming to expand the scale of domestic sales. However, the proportion of its overseas revenue in 2024 still shows a further increasing trend compared to 2023. Yongyi's CAGR (Overseas revenue from 2020 to 2024) was 7.5%, and its CAGR (domestic revenue from 2020 to 2024) was 11%.
Jiechang Drive's overseas sales revenue in 2024 was 2.535 billion yuan, accounting for 69.42%. The company has been gradually reducing the proportion of overseas sales since 2020. The CAGR (2020-2024, overseas revenue) is 15%, and the CAGR (2020-2024, domestic revenue) is 28%.
In 2024, Kaidi Co., Ltd. achieved overseas sales revenue of 754 million yuan, accounting for 56.46%. The CAGR (2020-2024, overseas revenue) is 5.7%, and the CAGR (2020-2024, domestic revenue) is -4%.
Iii. Profit polarization: Three enterprises saw growth of over 19%, while two declined by more than 20%
 
In 2024, the growth rates of non-GAAP net profits of the five office furniture enterprises were significantly differentiated: The three with positive growth were Henglin Co., LTD., Yongyi Co., Ltd. and Jiechang Drive. Among them, Henglin's non-GAAP net profit was 281 million yuan, increasing by 19.45% year-on-year. Yongyi's non-GAAP net profit was 293 million yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 40.07%. Jiechang Drive's non-GAAP net profit was 241 million yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 41.33%.
The two enterprises with negative growth in non-GAAP net profit are Lego Co., Ltd. and Kaidi Co., LTD. Lego's non-GAAP net profit was 200 million yuan, with a year-on-year growth of -20.45%. Kaidi Co., LTD. 's non-GAAP net profit was 79 million yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of -21.53%.
 
As the office furniture industry gradually matures, with the unification of industry norms and standards, the market becomes increasingly competitive. Under the general trend of a decline in the gross profit margins of enterprises, the gap between them is also gradually narrowing.
Jiechang Drive is the only enterprise that saw a year-on-year increase in gross profit margin in 2024. The most important reason for the improvement in gross profit margin is the effective control of its material costs.
In 2024, the gross profit margins of the five office enterprises were as follows: Jiechang Drive 29.57%, Lego Co., Ltd. 29.15%, Kaidi Co., Ltd. 22.80%, Yongyi Co., Ltd. 21.64%, and Henglin Co., Ltd. 18.64%.
In 2024, the net profit margins of the five office enterprises are as follows: Jiechang Drive 7.70%, Kaidi Co., Ltd. 6.49%, Yongyi Co., Ltd. 6.36%, Lego Co., Ltd. 5.92%, and Henglin Co., Ltd. 2.41%.
Among them, the net profit margin of Lego Co., Ltd. witnessed a "sharp increase" in 2023. This was due to Lego's implementation of the "small warehouse to large warehouse" strategy in 2023, which led to a significant rise in the net profit margin due to the sale of warehouses during the process. However, in 2024, the net profit margin normally declined as it entered the final stage of the "small warehouse to large warehouse" strategy.
Fourth, different cash flow structures: Lege has an active investment, while Yongyi has entered the expansion stage
 
In the business operations of an enterprise, three core cash flows are usually formed: cash flow from operating activities, cash flow from investing activities, and cash flow from financing activities.
The three major net cash flows of Henglin Co., Ltd. are: operating + 951 million yuan, investment - 240 million yuan, and financing - 667 million yuan. The enterprise is in a period of stable adjustment.
The three major net cash flows of Lego Co., Ltd. are: operating + 658 million yuan, investment + 144 million yuan, and financing + 127 million yuan. The company is in a period of cautious expansion.
The three major net cash flows of Yongyi Co., Ltd. are: operating income + 351 million yuan, investment - 379 million yuan, and financing + 396 million yuan. The company is in a period of stable expansion.
The three net cash flows of Jiechang Drive are: operating + 509 million yuan, investment + 116 million yuan, and financing - 780 million yuan. The enterprise is in a stable and active optimization period.
The three major net cash flows of Kaidi Co., Ltd. are: operating + 167 million yuan, investment - 359 million yuan, and financing - 33 million yuan. The enterprise is in a period of stable adjustment.
V. Turnover Efficiency Competition: Yongyi has the fastest asset revitalization, while Lege has the strongest ability to collect payments
 
The lower the total asset turnover days, the stronger the enterprise's ability to activate assets and the higher the efficiency of resource utilization. The ranking of the total asset turnover days of the five office furniture enterprises in 2024 is as follows: Yongyi Co., Ltd. 291.2 days < Henglin Co., LTD. 333.61 days < Lege Co., LTD. 538.03 days < Jiechang Drive 650.72 days < Kaidi Co., LTD. 744.1 days.
The lower the accounts receivable turnover days, the stricter the enterprise's sales policies and the stronger its ability to collect payments. The ranking of accounts receivable turnover days for five office furniture companies in 2024 is as follows: Lego Co., Ltd. 23.89 days < Yongyi Co., LTD. 46.44 days < Jiechang Drive 52.14 days < Henglin Co., LTD. 53.51 days < Kaidi Co., LTD. 75.06 days.
The lower the inventory turnover days are, the faster the inventory turnover of the enterprise will be, and the more efficient the sales and inventory management will be. The ranking of inventory turnover days for five office furniture companies in 2024 is as follows: Lego Co., LTD. 46.33 days < Yongyi Co., LTD. 47.44 days < Henglin Co., LTD. 83.47 days < Kaidi Co., LTD. 100.2 days < Jiechang Drive 119.24 days.
Vi. Conclusion
In 2024, leading Chinese office furniture enterprises will achieve scale breakthroughs through global layout, diversified business and efficiency improvement. However, the challenges of the industry's overall gross profit margin decline and intensified internal competition still need to be faced. In the future, product upgrades driven by technological innovation, model changes in cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehouses, as well as the strengthening of supply chain resilience will become the core keys for enterprises to navigate through cycles and reconstruct the logic of profit growth.