Kika/Leiner’s market share is expected to fall below 10 percent

15 years ago, the furniture chains Kika/Leiner and XXXLutz were roughly equal in terms of their market shares in Austria.

Ikea was then – far behind – in third place. That has now changed significantly. While the Lutz Group’s market shares have continuously increased since then, those of Kika/Leiner have steadily declined. This was supported by surveys by market researcher RegioData.

In 2023, the Lutz Group (XXXLutz, Mömax, Möbelix) remained the largest furniture retailer on the Austrian market with a 34 percent market share, followed by Ikea with 19 percent and Kika/Leiner with 13 percent.

This essentially corresponds to the data from the previous year, although Kika/Leiner filed for bankruptcy for the first time in mid-2023. “Sales didn’t fall that much because the branches made a lot of sales,” said RegioData managing director Wolfgang Richter in the APA conversation. Although there is no updated data for 2024, Richter suspects that the market share will “slip below the ten percent mark” after the second bankruptcy of Kika/Leiner.

In addition to the Kika/Leiner group, Interio, Depot and Butlers were also affected. Further locations would have to close or downsize, as Richter predicts. In the future, surviving furniture stores would have to try to reposition themselves through innovative concepts, increased efficiency and a better digital presence.