In recent years, more and more Chinese home furnishing enterprises have turned their attention to overseas markets. They are shifting from simple product exports to adapting operating models, gradually building brand influence in different regional markets and steadily opening a new chapter in going global. With self-owned brands at the center, these enterprises continue refining products around consumer demand in different overseas markets. For example, eco-friendly material wipes and functional bedding products have won recognition through careful localized adjustment.

Interviewed experts said that against the backdrop of increasingly intense competition in the domestic home furnishing market, going global has become an inevitable choice for enterprises seeking new growth points. In the future, smart home products, green home products, customized and integrated solution design and processing, as well as home furnishing products with ethnic and cultural characteristics, are expected to become new growth drivers.

Home Furnishing Enterprises Actively Expand into Overseas Markets

Inside the production workshop of Xi'an Zhubang Medical Technology Co., Ltd., activity is in full swing. A batch of floor wipes worth about 100,000 US dollars and destined for Europe is moving smoothly into mass production after collaborative design with overseas designers and sample verification.

By proactively going out, we can feel the positive changes in the home furnishing export landscape this year. Although there is uncertainty in the global trade environment, Chinese home furnishing exports remain stable, which also reflects international market recognition of home products made in China. Liu Lili, a company representative, told the International Business Daily that after considering trade policy and tariff conditions, logistics costs and supply chain efficiency, local consumer upgrading demand, acceptance of Chinese products, and the competitive landscape together with gaps in local brands, the company has increased investment in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia and South Asia. Relying on advantages under the RCEP framework, including tariff reductions, logistics convenience, and similar consumption concepts, the company also went to Thailand to participate in consumer goods exhibitions and precisely explore the Southeast Asian market.

At the same time, in order to match increasingly diverse global demand more accurately, we have kept pushing product innovation. Liu Lili added that the enterprise not only offers customized design services, but also provides dedicated transport solutions covering the full process and actively adopts environmentally friendly and sustainable materials to ensure compliance with environmental standards in overseas markets such as the European Union. Looking ahead, the company will focus on two directions. One is raising the added value of export products by going deeper into customized and premium home furnishing fields. The other is deepening brand globalization by continuously building global brand recognition and cultivating local customer loyalty.

The overseas export business of Shenzhen Yuanchao Smart Living Co., Ltd. has also maintained solid growth momentum. A recent export order worth about 300,000 US dollars and destined for Mongolia has entered its final production stage and is expected to be shipped by sea this month. Notably, the deal was concluded after customers visited the showroom in person, and products with heated seat cushions and functional bedding were especially popular.

Xu Shuang, the company's general manager for foreign trade, told the International Business Daily that since the beginning of this year, overseas export orders have increased by about 20 percent year on year. Growth in wholesale trade products has been particularly strong, and the company has successfully entered European and African markets. To match the needs of new markets, the company has specifically launched compressed sofas, compressed mattresses, and compressed upholstered beds, effectively reducing transportation costs.

Xu Shuang said that the current potential for the home furnishing industry's overseas expansion is large, mainly because of global consumption upgrading, improving cross-border e-commerce infrastructure, and the differentiated advantages of China's supply chain. In recent years, the company has gradually established an export business system covering Europe, South America, Africa, the Far East, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. Among them, Europe and Southeast Asia have become core markets because of stable demand and strong consumption capacity, while emerging markets such as Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East are also accelerating in layout. Facing a complex foreign trade environment, the company has clarified three development directions: continue to deepen brand specialty stores, actively expand new markets, and raise overseas brand awareness; strengthen OEM and ODM product development and expand customers among large wholesalers and design companies; and increase implementation of hotel and apartment engineering projects.

These overseas practices are vivid examples of how Chinese home furnishing enterprises are actively adapting to market change and expanding their global footprint through innovation and deep cultivation.

Diversified Efforts Build a Stronger Foundation

The momentum of Chinese home furnishing enterprises going global continues to rise, and overseas markets have become an important growth engine. Speaking about current development trends in this field, Zhang Yu, director of the International Trade Research Office at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of Finance and Strategy, told the International Business Daily that four major trends are emerging. First, enterprises are moving from pure product export toward the export of brands, design, and integrated solutions. Second, market layouts are expanding from North America to ASEAN, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa, showing diversified characteristics. Third, marketing channels are developing online and offline in coordination. Fourth, in organizational models, more and more enterprises are building factories abroad and deploying overseas warehouses to achieve localized production by relying on the closed-loop advantages of domestic supply chains.

Regarding the competitive advantages of China's home furnishing industry overseas and the potential of segmented tracks, Xiao Yaofei, professor at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and senior researcher at the Guangdong Institute for International Strategies, told the International Business Daily that home products using plastic as their main raw material still have production advantages in China, home cleaning products also remain competitive, and the pet food and pet products industries are still in an early stage with strong future growth potential.

Xiao Yaofei suggested that in the future, greater efforts should be made to cultivate the home furnishing design industry and expand it overseas, implement brand strategy, and promote brand internationalization; encourage coordinated development between home furnishing manufacturers and service enterprises, with a focus on cultivating home furnishing service companies; and accelerate the training and development of home furnishing design talent.

Zhang Yu further suggested that in market selection, enterprises should focus on segmented markets, achieve accurate matching, and gradually establish local market advantages. In product strategy, they can explore combining digital and intelligent technologies together with green concepts and local market characteristics to launch distinctive and customized products that align with technological trends and local demand. In operating models, small and medium-sized enterprises can adopt asset-light methods by combining cross-border e-commerce platforms and independent websites with overseas warehouse display, or by cooperating with local distributors, gradually building stable supply chains and sales systems. In risk control, enterprises should value compliant operations, fully meet certification requirements in target markets, and establish both supply chain backup systems and customer credit evaluation systems to effectively manage supply chain and commercial credit risks.

Source: International Business Daily