|
Bathroom Market By Product Group By Value 2008 £
million MSP
 |
AMA Research have published an update to the
2008-2012 Bathroom Market report. The update focuses on the key
elements in the marketplace, bringing up to date the critical
report elements such as market size, product mix, changing trends,
and providing a more recent basis for updating all the relevant
forecasts through to 2013. |
The conclusions reached in
the 2009 update are as follows:
The bathroom products market
had an estimated value of £794m at manufacturer selling prices in 2008.
This represents a significant 11% decrease over the previous year.
The market was seriously
affected by the deteriorating economic climate in 2008, in terms of a
very difficult housing market, both in terms of new build and house
moves, falling levels of consumer confidence, rising inflation, and
expanding job losses in financial and construction sectors in particular.
The level of house building
completions fell substantially in H2 2008, with an estimated 35% decline
for the year, significantly affecting the bathroom sector.
RMI activity has also
declined over the last year or two following lower levels of consumer
confidence, expenditure and house moving.
The bathroom products market
is expected to decline by a further 10% in 2009 to a value of £712
million.
Housebuilding levels are
expected to decline in 2009 with estimates in the region of 100,000
completions, further impacting on the demand for bathroom products.
Import levels of baths and
sanitaryware are estimated to have declined in 2008, although at a slower
rate than the overall bathroom products market.
The medium term prospects are
more favourable, supported by an economic recovery and improvement in the
commercial sector, driven by the additional new build, RMI and Legacy
activity planned as a direct result of the successful Olympics bid. This
will particularly affect the hotel sector, but also the new housings
sector. Public sector improvement programmes in education and health
should also support the market and benefit the sanitaryware and brassware
sectors in particular.
In terms of the product mix,
bathroom furniture has gained value share in recent years, while the high
level of price competition in the sanitaryware sector has prompted a fall
in share.
The merchants continue to
dominate the distribution of bathroom products, followed by the DIY
multiples and the bathroom specialists. | 
