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How to Look for World Famous Office Furniture Brand Designs in China

September 22, 2023

Are you looking to purchase or import famous brand office furniture from China for your business or home office? Then this guide is for you. We understand identifying which brands are the best can be difficult, especially since China is the largest furniture export country globally. For this reason, we have compiled the following guide on Chinese office furniture brands to give you all the information you need.
History of Furniture Factory Development in China

In the 90s, some Hong Kong and Taiwan companies expanded to China, intending to establish furniture factories. However, these factories mainly served as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for large factories in Europe and the United States. The gradual localization of parts and accessories saw the rapid improvement of their supply chain.
In the process, OEM factory employees learned about popular European and American style furniture, mastered relevant technologies, and grasped the supply chain of furniture accessories. As a result, some struck out on their own and opened smaller furniture factories.

In 2004, China surpassed Italy to become the largest exporter of furniture. And it has since remained the world’s leading supplier of furniture. In 2018, the country exported furniture with an estimated value of $53.69 billion. The following year, China’s global online furniture sales were estimated to be over $68.6 billion.

How Are Famous Designs Being Copied
With famous brand office furniture costing an arm and a leg, major Chinese manufacturers saw a niche and exploited it.

They began making copies of iconic office furniture brands from Europe and the United States. The likes of Herman Miller, Steelcase, Ergohuman, Bentley, Haworth, and Knoll.
They would either make some adjustments to the original or 100% replicas. Let’s take Herman Miller, for instance. Their popular Aeron office chair has a price tag of well over 1000 USD. But you can get a cheaper “knock-off” that costs four times less, such as the WorkPro Quantum 9000.