Week 5- Vivianne Lee

The country of Denmark remade itself through the Danish furniture industry. The Danish furniture industry has displays a competitive and economical strength in past and modern day furniture. A measure utilized to indicate the significance of this strength is the export intensity of the industry. Export intensity “signifies the percentage of production accounted for by Exports, and in the case of the Danish furniture industry, the export intensity has since 1990 permanently been above 70 per cent” (Hedeman & Nissen, pg.3). The strong international reputation of Danish furniture is believed to be linked to two aspects; the foreign promotion of Danish furniture in the 1950s and the consumption trends prevailing at this time where the social status related to furniture made up an important feature of competitiveness. (Hedeman & Nissen, pg.3). The Danish brand in furniture became an important mediator in the foreign demand of Danish furniture which first started in the US and later shifted towards other countries as well. The significance of this trend is for instance demonstrated by the import of furniture to the US (Hedeman & Nissen, pg 3). This has happened gradually, first with a late deployment of outsourcing to Eastern Europe in the 1990s, and later by accelerating this trend in the post-2000 period. New types of Danish furniture can achieve maximum “national aesthetic” status as it can further influence the development of new furniture companies which previous traditional Danish furniture had already begun doing so.

Citations:

Danish Furniture and the History of Scandinavian Design. (n.d.). Retrieved frohttps://www.viesso.com/blog/danish_furniture_and_the_history_of_scandinavian_design.htm 
Hedemann, L., & Nissen, M. (1). The internationalization of Danish furniture. A value chain perspective. Erhvervshistorisk Årbog, 62(2), 15-36.