Executive Summary

The UK market for household furniture was valued at £8.85bn in 1999, having seen little growth since 1997. The sectors that make up this market include living room furniture, dining room furniture, kitchen furniture and bedroom furniture. The market value does not include antique and other second-hand furniture.

The purchase of household furniture is normally something that can be easily deferred, and competes with other discretionary spending on goods, services and savings. It therefore follows that the size of the furniture market is linked to the state of the economy. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), data available for the last quarter of 1999 indicate that the economy was growing robustly; however, manufacturing growth had fallen during that period, concentrated in `high-tech' industries.

The housing market also has a direct effect on furniture sales, as moving house often triggers the purchase of furniture, including by people who are not setting up home for the first time. 1999 saw the highest number of property transactions for some years, and it is to be hoped that continuing low interest rates will encourage the trend. There has also been a rise in the number of single occupancy households. This trend inevitably means some increase in demand, but it also influences the type of furniture purchased, as single households are likely to be smaller, requiring versatile items that make the most of limited space.

Such versatility and, of course, cost are factors taken into account when choosing furniture, but comfort, quality and interesting design are just as important. Furthermore, consumers are increasingly expecting immediate availability — a factor that has contributed to a growth in flat-pack furniture outstripping that of ready-assembled furniture.

The household furniture market is a highly competitive one in which discounting plays a large part. The January sales are still an important time for the industry, although consumers are always able to find special offers and most will shop around before choosing. Such competition makes the market a testing one, and some large chains have had recent problems.

Key Note anticipates a virtually static market, with retail sales valued at £8.94bn in 2000, and increasing by 5.9% over the 1999 value to reach £9.37bn by 2004. It is expected that value sales of flat-pack furniture will continue to grow at a faster rate than those of ready-assembled items, and that furniture for the home office will be among the subsectors seeing the most rapid volume growth.

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