FURNITURE
Has local furniture found its footing?
SAFI
For the South African furniture manufacturing industry, 2025 marked a shift from survival mode to strategic repositioning. With renewed focus on export readiness, skills development and policy alignment, the industry has begun reshaping how it competes globally, supported by the South African Furniture Initiative’ s( SAFI) growing behind-the-scenes role.
According to SAFI’ s 2025 research, the year was one of recalibration, resilience and real progress in an industry under pressure from imports, rising compliance demands and shifting global markets.
“ Manufacturers are under no illusions about how tough the operating environment is,” says SAFI CEO, Greg Boulle.“ What has changed over the past year is that businesses are no longer simply being told to‘ be resilient’. They are being given real structures to compete, through export access, skills development, compliance support and market intelligence.”
82 autumn 2026 | www. tobuild. co. za