Anthony Moses, Head of Sales and Marketing at GFW Furniture, talks about how the business has carved a distinctive position in the market and why it is well equipped to meet the demands of a shift towards flat-pack furniture buying.
After a bruising few years of inconsistent freight rates, cost-of-living pressures and weak consumer confidence, the UK furniture market in 2025 feels like it’s finally stopped wobbling. At GFW Furniture, the company is on track for a record year in 2025 with strong plans to continue that growth through 2026.
“Behind those headline numbers is a market that’s been reshaped,” reveals Anthony Moses, Head of Sales and Marketing at GFW. “Spending on big-ticket items fell in 2023–24, and reports suggest UK furniture spend dipped again in 2024 before returning to growth, with only around 10% cumulative expansion forecast between 2024 and 2029.
“Consumers are still cautious, trading down on price but up on value: they’re prepared to spend if products are durable, stylish and clearly worth it and at GFW we have adapted significantly our range over the last 18 months to outperform the market forecast in 2025.”
Anthony also outlines how the structure of demand has started to shift. “Home furniture accounts for the lion’s share of UK furniture sales, with living and bedroom pieces dominating. Hybrid working keeps home-office desks, chairs and storage ticking over, while an ageing population and smaller urban homes are nudging demand towards compact, multi-functional designs and easy-to-assemble formats.
“Eco-friendly materials and certifications are no longer a nice-to-have; they’re increasingly part of the purchase decision, especially for younger buyers and in offering both FSC and PEFC certified products alongside a robust sustainable sourcing policy allows GFW to meet those consumer needs.
“Retail channels have been transformed even more dramatically too. Online furniture retail in the UK is now worth around £10bn, and globally e-commerce furniture sales are growing at double-digit rates – far faster than the market overall. Pure-play digital retailers are battling with omnichannel chains and marketplaces, while bricks-and-mortar specialists push showroom experiences, finance options and faster delivery. It’s a competitive, low-margin environment where logistics, stock management and drop-shipping partnerships can make or break profitability.”
This is the landscape into which GFW Furniture has carved a distinctive position. Founded in 2009 and based in Darwen, Lancashire, GFW has built its business around supplying flat-pack furniture to retailers and online sellers across the UK.
Rather than just solely pushing a big consumer brand of its own, GFW acts as the design-led engine room behind many of the beds, storage ranges and living room pieces shoppers encounter on multi-brand websites and in independents.
“GFW’s core proposition is deceptively simple: good-looking, on-trend furniture that is flat-packed for efficient shipping and priced squarely in the value and mid-market segments,” Anthony continued. “Our range spans bed frames, bedroom sets, chests and wardrobes, through to living room storage, hallway pieces.
“The design language leans towards contemporary, space-saving silhouettes, muted neutrals punctuated with colour, and practical touches such as extra storage, lift-up bases and compact footprints – exactly the kind of features sought by renters, first-time buyers and families upgrading on a budget.
“Strategically, this places us in a sweet spot between rock-bottom importers and premium solid-wood brands. We focus on “quality meets affordability” – products that look more aspirational than their price tags suggest, but are engineered to ship flat, assemble easily and work well for online retail.”
By optimising packaging, carton sizes and assembly fittings, GFW also helps its retail partners reduce damage rates and delivery costs – critical levers in a market where home delivery and returns can eat profit.
GFW’s customer is not just the end consumer, but the retailer trying to differentiate in an over-supplied market. The brand’s wide catalogue and frequent range refreshes allow stockists to present ever-changing collections without bearing all the design and sourcing risk themselves.
“That’s particularly powerful in 2025, when fashion-driven “looks” travel swiftly across social media and marketplaces; agile suppliers who can translate trend boards into affordable SKUs at speed stand to gain share,” Anthony said, while also sharing an insight on what the future holds for GFW into next year.
“Our positioning aligns neatly with the big themes shaping UK furniture in 2026 and beyond. The shift towards e-commerce and marketplace-based furniture buying favours flat-pack, easily shippable ranges. Persistent cost sensitivity supports value-driven brands that can still deliver design.
“Furthermore, heightened awareness of sustainability rewards suppliers that minimise waste, optimise transport and design products to last. While we may operate below the radar of many consumers, our role as a specialist in affordable, design-led KD furniture means we are well placed to capture continued incremental growth as the UK furniture market steadies, and slowly expands, through the second half of the decade.”
