German kitchen furniture manufacturer Schuller  reported its turnover as €451.3million, which was up 9.8% in 2020.

This is despite international lockdowns, company shutdowns and a period of short-time working in April at Schuller’s facility in Franconia.

Schuller reported the year started postively with a considerable drop in sales in March and April. It wasn’t until May that its sales were comparable to 2019.

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However, its performance in the second half of the year saw sales growth of  8.4%, up to €600.8million, by the end of 2020.

In addition, it has announced 4.6% rise in international markets despite a “difficult export environment” to €149.5million.

The company also grew its workforce by 4.9%, up to an average of 1,929 employees in 2020.

During this time, Schuller adopted digital technology to present its Schuller.C launches, with a virtual Schuller Innovations Tour as opposed to trade fair as part of the KuchenMiele A30.

The Innovations Tour featured regular newsletters, a video conference with sales representatives not only to present its collections but also able to answer retailer questions.

In addition, Schuller extended its Extranet service portal for trading partners to include digital sales, manuals and downloads.

It also provided digital training opportunities, with the Schuller Training Centre (STC) producing webinars and live seminars.

The company also expanded its production facilities in 2020 at Herrieden, which are now ready for the installation of mechanical equipment.

According to Schuller, it aims to complete the first measures by September 2021 and part of the halls will then be in operation.

In 2020, the manufacturer invested a total of €69million in infrastructure, building, technical facilities, machines, fleet, as well as operating and office equipment.

Sustainability has been at the heart of Schuller production with woods from managed forests, through to environmentally-friendly delivery fleets and packaging.

Now, the company has announced “the next logical step” is to gain certification of being a climate neutral furniture manufacturer.

Schuller announced it was looking “optimistically into the year 2021” with the kitchen remaining the most important and used room in the home.

It further announced, when it came to trade fairs and events, it was “cautiously optimistic that this is something we can look forward to in the autumn.”