In encouraging news, the Association of the German Kitchen Furniture Industry (VdDK) says that sales across the first seven months of the year have remained consistent with 2024, with the value of incoming orders having risen slightly year-on-year.
Between January and July, the German kitchen furniture market generated sales of around €3.3 billion, which is just 1.2% down from the same time last year. July’s sales also saw a significant boost of almost 5%, to around €428m.
According to the association’s statistics, the value of incoming orders for the German kitchen furniture industry between January to August 2025 was around 2.6% higher this year compared to 2024.
“After the sales declines of the past two years, we are now seeing signs of a recovery, even though the market environment remains challenging,” reflected Jan Kurth, managing director of the Association of the German Kitchen Furniture Industry
Looking at the rest of the year, Kurth forecast sales for the German kitchen furniture industry should hover around the previous year’s level of around 5.6 billion euros
The VdDK says that foreign sales among its 46 German kitchen manufacturers saw a small 1% decline this year, amounting to a market total of €1.5bn. Furniture exports to France – said to be the group’s “most important export country” – were down by 4.3%. Belgium’s sales were down almost 1%, the Czech Republic was down by 3.7%, and exports to the UK were almost exactly the same as last year.
In more positive news, exports to the Netherlands are up 6.6%, Austria is up by 2%, Switzerland saw a boost of 4%, and exports to Spain saw an encouraging 10.9% increase.
However, the VdDK says that sales have declined sharply in two of its most important non-European markets. Deliveries to Chine fell by more than 26%. Explaining this downturn, Kurth said: “Competition in the Chinese market has increased considerably against the backdrop of the gloomy economic environment. Both private consumer spending and the overall construction industry remain under pressure.”
In the United States, German kitchen furniture exports are also down by a concerning 17.4%, which is said to be due to “uncertainties resulting from American tariff policy”. On this topic, 80% of the association’s kitchen manufacturers said they expected a decline in their US exports as a result of the country’s new tariffs. However, the same percentage said they still intended to maintain their investments in US business.
