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Domestic kitchen and bathroom worktops market - UK 2009-2013 - just published

A newly published AMA report reviews the kitchen and bathroom worktops market in the UK and considers future prospects.
The report confirms that 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 have declined 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.
AMA Research's report 'Domestic Kitchen and Bathroom Worktops Market - UK 2009-2013' is available in hard copy or electronic format.

T: 01242 235724
E: [email protected]
W: www.amaresearch.co.uk

8th January 2010