Higher prices for Polish furniture is the inevitable result, says CEO.
“Convincing traditional customers to new prices is a moment of truth, it is not always pleasant, especially when there is uncertainty on the Polish market, because no one is able to predict the end of the increases”, says Michał Strzelecki, director of the Polish Chamber of Commerce of Furniture Manufacturers.
The main shareholder of the listed company Fabryki Mebli Forte says that the prices of virtually all raw materials for production have recently increased significantly. The largest increase in prices took place in the group of wood-based panel materials (mainly the prices of chipboards increased). This has to do with rising prices for wood, chemicals and energy. Fittings and metal elements cost more, which in turn is related to the increase in steel prices. Glass, packaging and foam for upholstery production are more expensive.
Entrepreneurs were also surprised recently by the periodic shortage of raw materials and the most needed materials.
According to Maciej Formanowicz, this will have an obvious impact on the entire furniture industry. It is necessary to increase the prices of finished products, which may cause a decline in demand for furniture both domestically and in exports. This unfavorable scenario means problems for final producers, but also for suppliers of materials and raw materials, because entrepreneurs who fail to transfer the increases in the cost of manufacturing furniture to customers may limit production, i.e. reduce supply.
Forte’s CEO is convinced that costs will increase not only as a result of increases in raw material prices. One should also expect an increase in the cost of labor, taxes, etc. It is hardly surprising that the uncertainty in the furniture industry has been growing since the beginning of this year.
However, in the opinion of Maciej Formanowicz, Forte’s situation is stable. – We have at least the basic raw material, that is CDs, in abundance – he says. – The decision on vertical integration, made a few years ago in the company from Ostrów Mazowiecka, turned out to be very accurate – he adds.
Michał Strzelecki adds that the founder and CEO of Forte showed intuition a few years ago and invested in building a chipboard factory. In the present situation, the supply of own basic materials protects the Ostrów factories from price turbulence. However, this is a phenomenon in the entire furniture industry. In fact, all the largest producers of domestic furniture obtain their boards from external suppliers – says the director of OIGPM.