The kitchen worktop
market showed steady growth between 2000 and 2007, reaching a
market size of £190m by 2007. However, the start of the decline in
the housebuilding sector, together with a downturn in consumer
spending and tighter financial conditions were the main causes of
the downturn in the market in 2008 and in 2009.
The kitchen furniture
and worktops market is at the mature stage of its product
lifecycle. Consumer awareness is high and purchasing decisions
tend to be based on design, colour and materials.
Also as awareness is
high, consumers are constantly looking to new ideas or solutions
to create differential in their homes, hence added value solutions
have been popular in recent years.
The value of the total
kitchen worktop market is forecast to decline significantly in
2009, falling by 10% to reach £162m, having already fallen by 5%
in 2008, mainly as a result of the declining economic environment,
the deferral of high ticket purchases by consumers, contraction in
the housebuilding sector, a severe reduction in the number of
house purchases and the high level of price competition.
The gradual switch to
more expensive worktops, particularly granite tops, resulted in
stronger growth in the sector by value in the mid 2000s, though
the latest findings indicate a slight move away from such
products, possibly only temporarily, mainly because of the
deteriorating state of consumers’ finances and the result that
consumers will tend to trade downwards to less expensive
alternatives. While laminates continue to dominate the market with
a 54% share, solid surface and natural stone both have good shares
with natural stone, particularly granite, remaining popular at the
upper end of the market.
The bathroom worktop
market has shown growth, although it remains a small sector of the
overall sanitaryware and bathroom furniture market – accounting
for around 10% at the present time. It is also a small market when
compared to the kitchen worktop market – being the equivalent of
around 10-11% of that market.
In the housing market
there has been growth in the number of second bathrooms, the
installation of en-suite facilities and the number of properties
with additional cloakrooms. However, in recent years there has
been a trend towards more flats and apartments in the new housing
sector and this has limited the growth in bathroom worktops.
The value of the
bathroom worktops market is forecast to decline by around 8% in
2009 to reach £11m, having fallen by 8% in 2008, as the economic
situation deteriorated in the UK.
The value of the
bathroom worktops market has grown, mainly because of the
increasing popularity of bathroom furniture, but has also
benefited from the use of more expensive materials, such as solid
surface products, integrated basins and to a lesser extent
granite.
