The European Parquet Federation (FEP)’s board of directors met in October 2022 in Brussels, Belgium, and discussed the parquet situation in the European markets.
According to FEP, the very beginning of 2022 was still positive, but parquet consumption quickly started to decline in most FEP countries. The decreases were significant in France and Germany, while Sweden and Switzerland were still experiencing relatively good conditions during the first part of the year.
In the given context, FEP says with staggering energy bills and inflation, consumers’ confidence is very low, meaning spending is focused on essential needs. If consumers are still investing in buildings, it is more for insulation than interior design. Additionally, renovation work that began earlier during the pandemic is reaching an end.
All in all, parquet markets are down in most of the FEP countries for the first semester 2022 compared to the same period last year. Those countries that were still experiencing relatively good conditions, are now facing a slowing down of consumption, and are pessimistic for the months and year ahead. Availability and/or affordability of raw material wood is still critical. A brief recap of each country’s market overview may be viewed here.
New Logo
The FEP is launching its new logo, designed to highlight the wood nature of parquet. The new logo will appear progressively in all FEP communication.
FEP General Assembly and Parquet Congress 2023
The FEP’s 67th General Assembly and 47th Parquet Congress are scheduled for June 15-16, 2023 in Barcelona, Spain.