Chinese Hardware for Home Furniture Makes Strong Inroads into European Market, Driven by Compliance
As the EU deepens the implementation of its green New Deal and the demand for home renovation rises, Chinese hardware products for home furniture such as slides, handles, hinges, and sofa legs are accelerating their penetration into the high-end European market, with compliance-based layout and technological innovation as the fulcrums. Data shows that the scale of the European indoor home furniture hardware market reached 21 billion US dollars in 2024, and the growth rate is expected to exceed 9% in 2025. Among this, the import share of compliant hardware products from China increased by 12% year-on-year.
Compliance First to Build Market Access Barriers
Chinese hardware enterprises entering the European market generally take EN standard certification as their core strategy. At the International Hardware Fair Cologne in Germany, HIGOLD Group exhibited its silent hinges, which passed the EN 12521 load-bearing test and the EN 1728 anti-swallowing safety certification. The fatigue test for opening and closing of these hinges reached over 150,000 times, far exceeding the requirements of EU standards. A Zhejiang-based enterprise developed stainless steel slides that passed the EN 16516 formaldehyde emission test, with a limit three times stricter than the national standard, successfully entering the supply system of Leclerc, a French home furnishing chain.
"Compliance is not a cost but the foundation for price premium," said the person in charge of overseas markets at HIGOLD Group. The enterprise has established a dynamic tracking mechanism for EN standards and collaborated with TÜV Rheinland, a testing institution, to build an exclusive laboratory. This has shortened the certification cycle for new products by 40%, and the price premium rate of its products in the European end market has reached 15%.
Technological Innovation Meets European Consumer Demand
In response to the dual demands of "functional aesthetics + sustainability" in the European market, Chinese enterprises have launched a series of innovative products:
Intelligent slides: Drawer slides equipped with an anti-obstruction rebound system have passed the EN ISO 12100 risk assessment and meet the modular design needs of German kitchen customization brands.
Customized handles: These handles adopt popular finishes such as vintage brass and polished nickel, and offer customization in more than 300 sizes to meet the personalized assembly needs of Italian home furnishings.
Eco-friendly sofa legs: Made from recycled aluminum alloy, these sofa legs have passed the EN 13501 fire resistance certification and have become the designated supplier for hotel renovation projects in the Netherlands.
Notably, the DIY boom in the UK has driven a surge in demand for basic hardware. The easy-to-install hinge sets launched by Chinese enterprises have ranked among the top 3 in the category on Amazon Europe for three consecutive months due to their strong adaptability, with the unit price 20% higher than that of ordinary products.
European Local Service System Accelerates Improvement
To be closer to the needs of the European market, Chinese hardware enterprises are deepening their localized operations in Europe in all aspects, from logistics networks and cooperation models to participation in standard-setting.
In terms of logistics and distribution, HIGOLD Group has collaborated with local European logistics enterprises to establish regional warehousing centers in Duisburg, Germany, and Łódź, Poland. This enables the delivery of core products such as hinges and slides to major European cities within 48 hours, increasing inventory turnover by 35%. Datou Hardware, on the other hand, has integrated into Homag Group, a European home furnishing supply chain platform, incorporating products such as sofa legs and handles into the "immediate restocking" system of European home furnishing brands, shortening the order response time to within 24 hours.
In terms of local cooperation, the collaboration between Chinese enterprises and European hardware distributors continues to deepen. A Guangdong-based hardware enterprise has entered into a strategic cooperation with Hettich, a century-old German distributor. They jointly developed "easy-to-disassemble and assemble hinge sets" to meet the demand for old house renovation in Europe, which captured 18% of the German renovation market share within six months of its launch. A Zhejiang-based enterprise has cooperated with an Italian design studio to launch a series of handles that conform to European minimalist aesthetics, successfully entering the core exhibition area of the Milan International Furniture Fair.
More notably, Chinese enterprises are deeply involved in the development of European industry standards. This year, three Chinese hardware enterprises have joined the working group for revising the EN 14351-1 standard for door and window hardware. The "technical indicators for silent damping" proposed by them have been incorporated into the new version of the standard, marking a further increase in the right to speak of "Made in China" in the European hardware sector. The Secretary-General of the European Association of Hardware for Home Furniture commented, "Chinese enterprises have evolved from 'participants in the European market' to 'co-builders of the European industry ecosystem'."
Future Outlook
With the upcoming implementation of the EU's mandatory carbon footprint standard EN 15804+A2, Chinese hardware enterprises are accelerating their deployment in low-carbon production. HIGOLD Group revealed that its new-generation sofa legs have achieved a 22% reduction in carbon emissions throughout the whole life cycle, and it is expected that its market share in the EU will exceed 8% by 2026. Industry insiders believe that driven by both compliance capabilities and innovation strength, Chinese hardware for home furniture is expected to capture 25% of the mid-to-high-end market in Europe by 2030.
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