Furniture and Interior Prices to Rise Again

Hanssem Design Park Lotte Maison Dongbu Busan Branch Living Goods Hall.
[Photo by Hanssem]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jong-hwa] The furniture and interior industry continues to raise prices one after another this year, following last year.

According to the industry on the 12th, Hanssem has decided to increase prices of window and door items by 4% starting next month. In March, they plan to raise prices of kitchen, bathroom, flooring, and wallpaper items by about 4%.

IKEA and Hyundai Livart have either already raised prices or plan to do so. IKEA Korea raised consumer prices by an average of 6% for 20% of its products, including storage cabinets, beds, and dining tables, starting from the new year.

Hyundai Livart will increase prices of all kitchen and bathroom installation furniture products on its online mall by 3-5% from mid-month. However, offline stores will maintain existing prices.

The price increases in the furniture and interior industry have continued since last year. Hanssem raised prices three times last year?in March, April, and June?by an average of 5%, while Hyundai Livart raised prices twice?in June and December?by an average of 6%. Persys Group also raised prices by an average of 5% over June, July, and August, and Shinsegae Casa implemented an average 8% price increase in September.

The furniture and interior industry states that the price hikes since last year are due to the continued rise in prices of wood, the raw material for furniture, and logistics costs.

According to the Korea Timber Association, the price of Russian wood, a major material used for bed frames, was 570,000 KRW per cubic meter as of December last year, up 46.1% from 390,000 KRW in the same period the previous year. Logistics costs are also soaring. The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI), which indicates freight rates on maritime routes, recorded 5,110 points last week, up 1.2% from the previous week. This is the highest level since SCFI began tracking in October 2009.

An industry official said, "Due to the rise in raw material and logistics costs since last year, price increases for some products have become inevitable," adding, "If the upward trend in wood prices and maritime freight continues, there is a possibility of considering additional price hikes."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.