With the 80’s and 90’s generations gradually becoming the main consumer target population, the demand for health and comfort is becoming a hot direction for the market to continue to pay attention to.

Benefiting from the younger generation of consumer groups and consumption upgrading, the development of functional smart furniture is on the rise. One of the main trends is the interconnection of smart furniture for the bedroom. From using one-key activation to preset settings, to one-stop smart solutions, the composition of functional spaces and smart scenarios application are gradually becoming one of the favorite trends.

As the first choices for smart room spaces, smart motorized beds and functional sofas have also witnessed accelerated development. According to the research report data of Huaxi Securities, the global smart bed market reached 4.59 billion US dollars in 2021, with a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 22.9% from 2015 to 2021. From 2014 to 2020, the global functional sofa market size grew at a CAGR of 8.2% to $24.47 billion.

The “Smart” trend is on the rise. In this article we will put the spotlight on the power behind-the-scenes - the global electric mechanism producer leader OKIN, exploring how it is positioned on a global level, digging deep into the functionality of products and laying out its advantage of “one-stop solution” in the global market in multiple fields while empowering the Chinese industry in multiple dimensions.

A global tour!

"In-person" pressed the acceleration button of the smart furniture trend

After the pandemic, the global thinking on a healthy lifestyle has further deepened, and home and office environments have become the two major focuses under this transformation. The increasing diversification and personalization of consumer demand has led the industry to continue to expand the solutions for smart home and smart offices, from functional to interconnected, from single element to full systems, emerging into a silent surge of a trend.

In recent years, functional and smart products have become a major figure at major exhibitions.

Among them, as the technical main force behind the field of functional and smart furniture and a renowned brand in the field of global linear drive, OKIN brings diversified, smart and scenario-based one-stop control system solutions for leisure, sleep, office work and others, reaching the global market with the world's top technical strength and product solutions.

Every year, DewertOkin focuses on presenting one-stop smart drive solutions at numerous major well-recognized home, office, medical and other professional exhibitions in Japan, the U.S., Vietnam, Germany and China.

In February 2024, at the Ho Chi Minh Furniture Fair in Vietnam - one of the hottest furniture fairs in Southeast Asia - OKIN led the way with one-stop smart furniture solutions, showing visitors the multifunctional scenario transitions in the living room and bedroom with flexible drive technology.

For example, to better adapt to all types of living rooms style requirements and meet the “relaxation” environment pursued by different users, OKIN provides different functional sofa solutions featuring low sitting height, high legs, zero-wall, and swing chairs, among other options.

Behind the global exhibition tour, OKIN also consider specific markets, displaying products according to the usage habits of different regions and countries. For example, the concept of home automation is relatively more mature in economically developed countries such as North America and Europe, where the demand for smart home market is bigger.

Therefore, at the last interzum exhibition in Cologne, Germany, the leading event in the global furniture and interior design industry, OKIN presented the latest drive technology products, displaying product solutions in different scenarios and different needs in the field of smart furniture or the functional spaces of leisure, sleep and office work.

Behind the global exhibition tour, OKIN also consider specific markets, displaying products according to the usage habits of different regions and countries. For example, the concept of home automation is relatively more mature in economically developed countries such as North America and Europe, where the demand for smart home market is bigger.

Therefore, at the last interzum exhibition in Cologne, Germany, the leading event in the global furniture and interior design industry, OKIN presented the latest drive technology products, displaying product solutions in different scenarios and different needs in the field of smart furniture or the functional spaces of leisure, sleep and office work.

For the sleeping space, this time OKIN is presenting IoT scenarios display and sleep monitoring system to optimize the smart sleeping experience.

In addition, for the Office sector OKIN is bringing not only L-shaped two-stage desk systems, but also a wide range of lifting products, like TV stands and C-shaped tables among other products, that can be applied in many different scenarios, such as education and training, leisure, and home.

Moving across the ocean, OKIN also counts with permanent showrooms at the Las Vegas Market, USA, as well as at the world's largest trade fair for the furniture industry at High Point, USA. At HPMKT, OKIN focuses on high-leg mechanisms, which are more popular among the living customs of the North American region, also focusing on modern design and customized services according to the market demand.

Aside from different market requirements across the globe, the core technology innovation and R&D that are OKIN’ strength and backbone since its establishment keeps being the wide use of innovative lift technology in everyday applications - home, office, medical and other fields, while also expanding the smart interconnection trend that is pressing the accelerator button for users to move towards a healthier and more convenient lifestyle. 

‘OKIN inside’!

A one-stop shop for better relaxation and sleep rooted in the digital era

After the world entered the digital economy, ‘smart’ for home, office and other areas is no longer a new concept, but compared to foreign markets, the current domestic smart home market is still an emerging segment.

Among them, OKIN as a global motorized mechanism technology leader, plays an important role and provides key technical support for the development of smart living products for home furnishings and other industries, whether in the areas of functional sofas, smart beds or lifting tables.

In the Internet era, there is a slogan called ‘Intel inside’, As the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer, Intel produces the internal core components of computers to provide strong technical support for the optimization of computer CPU performance, playing a significant role in the final performance of the computer.

As the core components, OKIN motorized mechanism technology play the same role to the “CPU” of smart furniture products, which generated a similar saying in the home furnishing industry, called ‘OKIN inside’.

OKIN offers more than just technology to its customers around the world - rather, it is a complete one-stop solution for smart control systems.

First of all, from the functional sofa market point of view, the domestic market today still is a relatively niche product, related to a younger user population, but is in rapid growth. According to China Business Industry Research Institute, China's functional sofa market in 2016 was about 5.665 billion yuan, and it grew to about 9.983 billion yuan in 2022, nearly doubling.

With the rapid growth of the market, DewertOkin has accurately captured the needs of different regions, applications, and population groups, and has adapted a variety of models to meet the diversified needs, ranging from the zero-wall ergonomically shorter sofa with a high seat height designed for small households, to a wide range of other products, including multi-functional sofas for the elderly and massage sofas.

At the ‘Smart Upholstery - Fashionable Life｜China Upholstery Home Trend Forum 2023’, Joerg Lehnen, European Sales Director of OKIN in Germany, spoke about OKIN's expansion in the Chinese functional sofas market, and he said that OKIN will continue investing in technological upgrades in terms of the voice system and sensor technology among others, to provide safe, reliable and user-friendly products.

At the same time, the concept of ‘smart sleep’ is increasing in the industry, and smart beds, as one of the first choices for smart sleep scenarios, are becoming another core market for smart furniture.

As consumer market awareness education spreads and related overseas enterprises increase investment in the domestic market, the smart sleep industry is expected to grow rapidly and mature.

Under the emergence of the smart sleep trend, in addition to the market's basic lifting functions, OKIN is working on making smart sleep more accessible to all kinds of users. OKIN one-stop smart bed control system allows for one-click bed adjustments presets for watching TV and zero gravity positions as well as anti-snoring modes, and also offers many other functions such as signs monitoring system, massage modes and so on.

In addition to functional sofas and the smart sleep market, OKIN’s linear drive technology is also very well established in office applications. The office furniture market in the Asia-Pacific region is experiencing fast-growing pace and is expected to account for 45% of the global market by 2030, demonstrating that people have embarked the trend of a healthier office environment and that the concept of the dynamic office is gaining popularity by each day.

OKIN's one-stop smart sit-stand desk solutions have also been part of OKIN’s global exhibitions, such as in the U.S. Chicago Office Furniture Exhibition “NeoCon”.

To meet the healthy and efficient office market demand, the sit-stand desk products including lift columns, hand controllers, control boxes and accessories were released, considering the product application from the three aspects of design, technology and practicality, showcasing cutting-edge office design.

Smart Furniture on the rise! OKIN is betting on Chinese market growth

On the map of the trend of smart furniture – spreading from recliner sofas and motorized beds, new categories of “smart” products for the living room, bedroom, and office spaces, are also rising, such as smart mattresses for example.  These new trends are impacting traditional products while constantly stimulating new consumer demand.

Under the ‘lazy man culture’, the trend of smart guest bedrooms has led to the rapid growth of the domestic market. According to Huaxi Securities, data show that United States is still the largest consumer market in the world. On the other hand, China's smart bed industry reached 2.44 billion yuan in 2020. However, despite the late start, the industry size is expected to grow rapidly and optimise the market landscape.

In terms of functional sofa market coverage, the gap between China and the U.S. market is slowly closing as well. Around 2019, the prevalence of functional sofas in the U.S. market was at 41.5%, against only 14% in China. Being such a big market, the penetration rate of functional sofas in many first- and second-tier Chinese cities has now reached more than 20% in just a few years.

At present, the smart home trend is on the rise. The changes in market demand are more diversified and three-dimensional, and domestic companies also need to be more customized, fully integrated and offer localized support services.

The whole way to present products to consumers has shifted from the single categories to the scenario-based product array. Domestic companies are no longer just displaying their single products to customers. Instead, they start from, for example, bedroom and living room scenes, with a full set of functional smart products, to demonstrate in a visible way the possibility of a better life for users.

As a leader behind smart furniture, OKIN has been providing ‘one-stop’ service to customers for a long time now. From offering complete product configurations such as ‘mechatronics’, to stable lead times and a complete after-sales and technical support, OKIN curates all the steps from order to the final implementation of smart scenarios in the Chinese market, adapting to the needs of diversified users.

Smart environments require a high level of customization. As the product features mature further, new consumer demands are emerging, and the technical support for functional sofas and smart beds/mattresses is no longer just about the product itself - it has evolved to cover many aspects of the environment and ergonomics, such as pairing with a sign monitoring system, massage function and AI connectivity.

Customization is one of the focuses of OKIN in China. From the introduction of short seat height sofas ergonomically suited to the domestic market and zero-pressure sofa with massage sound therapy and signs monitoring, to the OKIN smart bed control system that allows for accurate position control, OKIN portfolio is constantly aiming at the development of domestic smart furniture trend, empowering the industry to open up new space for growth!

Conclusion

In the future, the global trend towards “smart” will grow stronger and incorporate multiple angles into the home, office and other spaces - from the individual items as sofa, bed and desks, and even curtains, to interconnecting the whole-house functions control towards AloT.

From functionality to “smart”, and then to the next stage of AloT, OKIN is constantly demonstrating the infinite possibilities of a smart future with technology and design in its global exhibition tour. With the ‘one-stop’ approach, global layout, comprehensive services and covering multiple demographics, scenarios and fields, OKIN will stand on top of the technological peak and use the experience accumulated over the past four decades to explore the infinite possibilities of healthy lifestyles for future consumers!