Are Consumers Interested in Colored Beech Wood and Furniture Products?

Abstract

The beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) is the most represented tree from the deciduous trees in Slovakia. This paper deals with the issue of color tones of steamed beech wood and furniture products made of it. The main objective of this paper was to identify the interest of Slovak consumers in colored beech wood and furniture made of it. An empirical survey was used to map the issue, while the basic set was the population of Slovakia. The representativeness of the sample set was verified through the chi-square test. The results showed that Slovak consumers are highly interested in buying beech wood and products made of it. In addition to the price and quality of the wood raw material, the color of the wood is also an important factor for them. The majority of respondents stated that they were not interested in buying wood and furniture products in the native color of beech wood. On the contrary, Slovaks especially prefer deep brown-red tones of beech wood. The results of the conducted survey are up to date and take into account consumers’ behavior after the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the current economic crisis. This information will help woodworking and furniture enterprises operating in the Slovak business environment to better adapt their offer of products for the end consumers. At the same time, it will help in working efficiently with wood raw material, which is becoming a short commodity from a global point of view.

Keywords

• beech wood
• colored wood
• color tones of steamed beech
• demand
• furniture industry