(Yicai) Dec. 15 -- Many Chinese furnishing companies are experiencing operating difficulties because of the sluggish real estate market.

Yang Yi, the head of a small furnishing firm, told Yicai that the company did well at the beginning of the year and expected to receive over 20 orders but has been out of business for several months. Even in September and October, a traditional peak season for the industry, the company only received one order, Yang noted.

The main reason for this situation is that property developers are struggling, as fewer people are willing to buy homes, Yang said. Moreover, many people are facing consumption downgrades and are delaying their plans to buy or furnish houses because of fewer savings after the three-year Covid-19 pandemic.

In the first 11 months of the year, the total sales of China’s top 100 property developers fell nearly 15 percent to CNY5.7 trillion (USD800.7 billion) from the same period of last year, according to China Index Holdings. The figure plunged over 29 percent in November from a year earlier, down for the sixth consecutive month.

Huang Xiaoyang, the owner of a furnishing firm in China’s eastern Shandong province, told Yicai that over 30 furnishing companies in his city have closedr. In addition, many customers no longer trust furnishing companies because of the reports of their struggles.

To survive, the company must slash costs, reduce streamline teams, leave shopping malls with high rents, devote more efforts to maintain old customers and attract new ones, and avoid excessive customer acquisition costs, Huang noted.

In recent years, more than 200 furnishing companies have shut down in Hainan province alone, according to the head of a furnishing firm in the Chinese southern province with more than 10 years of experience.

Shanghai Trendzone Construction Decoration Group, a unit of Shanghai Trendzone Holdings Group, received a bankruptcy liquidation ruling from the court after remaining stuck in a crisis, dragged down by its biggest client China Evergrande Group.

Editor: Futura Costaglione