The Association of the German Furniture Industry (VDM) has a new president. The members’ meeting in Frankfurt am Main unanimously elected the 59-year-old entrepreneur as the successor to Elmar Duffner. (63-year-old Duffner, who had already held the office from 2008 to 2014, was elected VDM President for the second time in autumn 2020). Leo Lübke, who is the managing partner of the upholstered furniture manufacturer “Cor Sitzmöbel Helmut Lübke GmbH & Co. KG”, has been a member of the VDM Executive Committee since 2011; he has served as Vice President since 2020. He also chairs the Association of the German Upholstered Furniture Industry. Leo Lübke is part of the twelve-member Presidium of the German Design Council and chairs the Association of the German Upholstered Furniture Industry. Lübke’s term of office as VDM President is three years. Sabine Brockschnieder, Christine Disselkamp, Katharina Hartmann and Martin Kaus will also join the Executive Committee.
“I am looking forward to this task and consider it a great honour to be able to work in this special position for a special industry. Nevertheless, I look at this task with a little respect and awe: after all, I am one of a long line of well-known personalities, including my father for many years,” said Leo Lübke. His father Helmut Lübke was VDM President from 1997 until his death in 2006. According to Leo Lübke, it was important for him to “represent the speciality and heterogeneity of this beautiful furniture industry both internally and externally”. As the leading furniture nation in Europe, German manufacturers could present themselves with a broad chest and be proud of their products “Made in Germany”: “Furniture is an emotional product and we have to convey this emotionality.”
Lübke thanked his predecessor Elmar Duffner for his enormous commitment during the challenging coronavirus period: “Elmar Duffner has left his mark and an excellently cultivated field. He has led this association with a professional hand and vision through a time characterised by special challenges and has brought the industry closer together.” In his new role, said Lübke, he wants to further increase the visibility of the furniture industry in public and in politics. He is also relying on the industry interest group “Möbel in Deutschland” (Furniture in Germany), which was launched in spring 2023 together with the German Furniture and Kitchen Retail Association (BVDM). In addition, the industry’s exports must be promoted and the increasing importance of sustainability must be given even greater consideration.
The German furniture industry has reportedly been experiencing a decline in demand for months. By August 2023, the volume of incoming orders would have been around 10% below the previous year’s figures against the backdrop of high inflation rates and declining construction activity. For 2023 as a whole, the industry is expecting a drop in turnover of 5 to 7% with total revenue of around 18 billion euros
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