Ekornes cut staff in January. Ten percent of the 760 production workers at Sykkylven got temporary redundancy notices. Order books were thin coming out of 2023, particularly from Germany and central Europe.
By November the company was in Shanghai, showing recliners at the China International Import Expo. Hammernes Leopold from marketing talked about fabric. Leather demand is down.
"We see a strong trend in moving more towards textiles, particularly for sofas."
The Qumei group bought Ekornes six years ago. China could become the company's biggest market.
Architecture Award
Snøhetta won an Elle Decor Italia prize in 2025. Vertikal Nydalen opened in Oslo last April. Net-zero for heating and cooling. The old Gullhaug Torg site used to be a parking lot.
Kim Lenschow finished a cabin in Norefjell. 800 meters up. He works out of Copenhagen now but grew up Norwegian. The plot belongs to a friend who wanted a hytte. Lenschow designed the interior so single steps separate rooms instead of walls. The floor follows the rock underneath.
R21 Arkitekter built on Nøtterøy in 2024. Narrow site between road and pier. Færder National Park across the water.
Mork-Ulnes used skigard for cladding on their Kvitfjell project. Quarter-cut logs, the kind farmers use for fencing. Casper Mork-Ulnes said they looked for examples of anyone using it as building material. Found nothing.
European Markets
Egil Sundet at Norsk Industri tracks European furniture numbers. At an EFIC meeting he said most markets were down 3 to 9 percent in 2024.
Norwegian Market
Norway did better. Imports are up. Small goods sell. Capital furniture sits.
Market Leaders
IKEA still leads. 8.5 billion kroner turnover. JYSK is second.
8.5B
IKEA turnover (NOK)
3–9%
European market decline
10%
Ekornes workforce reduction
760
Workers at Sykkylven
Wood floors. No carpet. Pine, birch. Large windows. The pattern holds.