Wholesale of household furniture covers the bulk supply of sofas, beds, tables and storage. Traders buy by the container from makers abroad and sell the stock on to other businesses. Their buyers include furniture retailers, fit-out firms, property developers and hotel groups. The trade sits between the factory and the showroom, and margin comes from volume rather than markup.
The market it feeds is a large one. The UAE furniture market is worth around USD 5.1 billion, on volume of about 4.3 million units a year.1 Demand splits between homes, offices and hotels, with each pulling a different kind of stock. Dubai takes the biggest share of that spending by some distance.
Property drives most of the demand. Dubai logged more than 270,000 property deals worth AED 917 billion during 2025.2 Every one of those handovers arrives as an empty space that someone needs to fill. A population that is 88% expatriate also turns over quickly, which shortens the replacement cycle.3
What furnishing Dubai’s new homes is worth
Whether you supply retailers, developers, fit-out firms or hotels, this activity covers bulk furniture trade. The figures below show the scale of that demand.
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Sources: Research and Markets (2026), Government of Dubai (2026), USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (April 2026)
Who is this activity for?
| IMPORTER Furniture importers and distributors | You buy furniture by the container from makers abroad. You then hold stock and move it on to trade buyers. |
| PROJECT SUPPLIER Developer and hotel suppliers | You supply bulk orders to developers, fit-out firms and hotels. Volume, lead time and price hold the contract. |
What this activity covers
This code covers wholesale trade in household furniture, sold in bulk to other businesses. The class guidelines set a wide scope across household goods.
- Bulk buying of sofas, beds, tables, chairs and storage
- Import and re-export of furniture through UAE ports
- Warehousing, breaking bulk and delivery to trade buyers
- Supply to retailers, developers, fit-out firms and hotels
- Wider household goods wholesale allowed under the same class
Product scope
| Living room furniture | Sofas, armchairs, coffee tables and units. The highest value room in most homes. |
| Bedroom furniture | Beds, wardrobes, side tables and mattresses. Often sold as matched sets. |
| Dining furniture | Tables, chairs and sideboards bought by the set. Popular in both retail and hotel supply. |
| Storage and shelving | Cabinets, shelving and built-in storage units. Steady demand from smaller apartments. |
| Outdoor furniture | Garden and terrace pieces built for heat and sun. Strong seasonal demand in this climate. |
What falls outside this activity
This activity does not cover office furniture, which sits under a separate code in class 4659. It does not cover making furniture, since manufacturing is a separate activity. Selling direct to the public is retail trade and needs a retail activity. The class guidelines also place blank recording media and broadcasting equipment outside this class.
In short, you can import and sell household furniture in bulk, but not office furniture, and not to shoppers.
Compliance
THIRD-PARTY APPROVAL
This activity does not require third-party approval to obtain a business license from Meydan Free Zone.
ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING COMPLIANCE
This business activity is not subject to AML compliance requirements.
Citations
1. Research and Markets, UAE Furniture Market Size, Competitors, Trends and Forecast, 2026.
2. Government of Dubai, Dubai Real Estate Market Records New Historic Milestone, 2026.
3. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, United Arab Emirates Grain and Feed Annual, April 2026.