Executive Summary

The UK market for lighting equipment is estimated to have been worth £1.53bn in 1996, showing only a very slight growth from 1995, but progress is expected to be better in 1997 and a market of £1.62bn is forecast.

Lighting equipment includes lamps, which are the light sources; and light fittings, which account for the larger share of the market and encompass many types of product, from domestic fittings to office lighting, street lights and floodlights, as well as many specialist functions. Within the lamps sector, the traditional filament lamp still takes a substantial share of the household market, but there is growth in energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs. Other established lamp types include sodium discharge, mercury discharge, metal-halide discharge, fluorescent tubes, and tungsten-halogen lamps. There is growth in new low-energy fluorescent tubes for office use and in tungsten-halogen lamps for many applications. There is a high rate of new product development (NPD), both in lamps and fittings, and various new lamp technologies could penetrate the market.

The UK market is showing healthy volume growth compared to some others in Europe, but prices have been falling in some sectors and this has limited the value growth. The problem is especially severe in the commercial lighting sector where competition is most fierce, but there is also strong price competition in domestic light bulbs.

The main driver for sales growth is new building, and the situation is now improving gradually. Projects planned for the Millennium also offer good opportunities.

Issues which affect the industry are energy-saving requirements, new European Union (EU) directives and environmental considerations.

Key Note expects the lighting equipment market to reach a value of £1.96bn at manufacturers' selling prices (msp) in the year 2000.

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