The Association of the German Kitchen Furniture Industry (VdDK - Verband der Deutschen Küchenmöbelindustrie) has reported encouraging stability in the sector, with sales in the first seven months of the year broadly in line with 2024 and incoming orders showing modest growth.
From January to July, the German kitchen furniture market generated approximately €3.3 billion in sales, representing only a slight decline of 1.2% compared to the same period last year. July, in particular, delivered a strong performance, with sales rising by nearly 5% to around €428 million.
Order intake has also improved. Between January and August 2025, the value of incoming orders increased by about 2.6% year-on-year, according to VdDK data.
Reflecting on these figures, Jan Kurth, managing director of the association, noted that the industry is beginning to recover after two years of declining sales, although market conditions remain challenging.
Looking ahead, Kurth expects total annual sales to remain close to last year’s level of approximately €5.6 billion.
International business has shown mixed results. Exports from the association’s 46 member companies declined slightly by 1% overall, reaching €1.5 billion. Among key European markets, exports to France fell by 4.3%, while Belgium and the Czech Republic recorded declines of nearly 1% and 3.7%, respectively. Exports to the United Kingdom remained largely unchanged.
However, several markets delivered positive growth. Exports to the Netherlands rose by 6.6%, while Austria increased by 2%, Switzerland by 4%, and Spain saw a strong gain of 10.9%.
Outside Europe, the picture is more concerning. Exports to China dropped sharply by more than 26%. Kurth attributed this decline to intensified competition and a difficult economic environment, with both consumer spending and construction activity under pressure.
Exports to the United States also fell significantly, down 17.4%. This decline is largely linked to uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariff policies. According to the association, 80% of German kitchen manufacturers expect further reductions in exports to the U.S. as a result of these tariffs. Despite this, the same proportion indicated they plan to continue investing in their U.S. operations.
With the German kitchen industry leading the world with exporting brands such as Nobilia, Schuller, Hacker, Nolte and more, the signals of the German Kitchens Industry recovery will be very welcome to the UK market with independent german kitchen retailers being hit very hard since the slowdown seen with Covid back in 2020.
