The webinar was held in cooperation with the Ukrainian Association of Furniture Manufacturers, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Denmark in Ukraine and the Exporters and Investors Council under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. The event took place in preparation of Ukrainian furniture makers for the first professional furniture exhibition “Furniture of Ukraine Business Expo” (FUBE), which will take place on 15-17 June 2021. About 50 representatives of the furniture business of Ukraine took part in the webinar.
Representatives of the Danish furniture companies “Hjort Knudsen” and “Leander” have spoken about their experience of entering the Ukrainian market and cooperating with Ukrainian companies. According to Steen Laursen, director of the Hjort Knudsen’s Ukrainian plant, production of his company has tripled in the last four years.
Ambassador of Ukraine to Denmark Mykhailo Vydoinyk told that in 2020 Ukraine exported furniture worth almost 40 million US$ to Denmark. He provided practical recommendations as to entry of Ukrainian furniture manufacturers into the Danish market, specifics of pricing, procedures for participation in public procurement, requirements of Danish regulatory authorities for furniture manufacturers, and also shared the peculiarities of cooperation with the Danes.
In turn, Ambassador of Denmark to Ukraine Ole Egberg Mikkelsen informed the participants of the general trends in the furniture industry and the Danish way of doing business with corporate social responsibility. According to him, Danish investors in the furniture industry are among largest Danish investors in Ukraine.
The Danish company “Hjort Knudsen A/S” designs, manufactures and supplies designer comfortable armchairs, sofas and beds. The company already has 4 factories in Ukraine in Brody, Velyki Mosty, Lviv and Pochaiv and is investing 11 million euros in building a new factory in Rivne.
The Danish company “Leander A/S” is an international manufacturer of children’s furniture that enhances child development by encouraging play, movement and creativity. The company operates in more than 30 countries, including a furniture factory in Slavuta, Khmelnytskyi region.
The Ukrainian Association of Furniture Manufacturers is the largest industry association in Ukraine, which unites manufacturers, suppliers, sellers, designers, whose share in the country’s furniture market is more than 60% with an annual turnover of $1.7 billion.
The International Professional Exhibition-Conference “FUBE” (“Furniture of Ukraine Business Expo”) aims to launch a forum that will unite more than 9 thousand furniture companies in Ukraine (furniture exports to 116 countries) and will create the conditions to transform Ukraine into European furniture manufacturing centre.