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UK Door & Window Fittings Market 2006-2013 (£m MSP)
Within our definition, the market for door and window fittings is
estimated at around £430m in 2008, representing a significant
decline on 2007. This is reflected in the chart, left, which shows
the performance of the market since 2001, with forecasts until
2013. In 2008, the market is estimated to have declined by over
15%, reflecting very difficult trading conditions in most key
end-use sectors. In terms of product mix within the market, the two
largest sectors are locks and handles, which account for around two
thirds of the market by value. We estimate that hinges and door
closers represent a further fifth of the market.
As a component supplier
to the UK door and window replacement market, this market has been
significantly hit in 2008, with difficult conditions persisting
into 2009. The UK house-moving market, which slumped in 2008, is
significant for the door and window fittings market both because of
its influence on the replacement window market, but also in terms
of general renovation projects. The new build market - another
important sector – has also experienced a severe downturn in 2008,
with new build volumes declining by over 30%. There is also a
retrofit market for existing homeowners, which has been depressed
and unlikely to recover in the uncertain economic climate in 2009.
The market is
relatively fragmented and characterised by quite complex
relationships, with some manufacturers also acting as distributors
in this UK market, and, as a result, effectively distributing
competing products;
A key feature of the
market in general for some time now has been low profit margins,
due to a combination of saturated markets, increasing competition,
an increase in low cost imports and high raw material prices.
Inevitably, prospects
for the door & window fittings market are closely linked to the
performance of the door and window markets and the glazing industry
in general. At the time of writing in early 2009, the UK economy is
in recession, and the window and door market is mature and in
decline. Our forecasts, therefore, anticipate a difficult year in
2009 with a further decline of 10-15% and little prospect of any
upturn in 2010. The new housing market is not likely to see
improvement before 2010 and even then increases are likely to be
modest, though longer term prospects remain favourable given the
underlying shortage of housing in the UK.
In the public sector,
some PFI funded projects would seem likely to stall in 2009, as a
result of the credit crunch and the lack of availability of
funding. In early 2009, whilst the government has made a commitment
that public spending will be advanced in order to sustain the
economy, there are concerns that advancing and/or increasing public
spending now must lead to cuts in public spending later as outlined
in the April Budget.
Gradual consolidation
has been a constant feature of this market over the past decade.
This is likely to continue and, in the current economic climate,
the pace of consolidation may accelerate as the volume erosion of
over 30% in 2008-10 will undoubtedly erode the viability of some
operations. |
