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New from GfK – Insight into the Performance of Homewares

July 2010
Textiles- FashionLife, UK

Total sales of Homeware products tracked by GfK exceeded £3bn over the first half of 2010. The recently launched service revealed that furniture comprised almost half of the market, with value sales of £1.52bn, with the highest value sector within this area being kitchen furniture (£408m). In volume terms a total of 479 million homeware products were sold, ranging from individual towels to wardrobes to fitted kitchens. The only month in which volume sales exceeded 100m was January, highlighting the significance of the January sales for this industry. With £649m worth of goods sold, January represented 21% of value sales in the six months to June.

At the beginning of the year kitchen furniture, essentially fitted kitchens, was the most significant product area within homeware, with sales of almost £130m. By June kitchen furniture sales had fallen to £41m, its lowest monthly level so far this year. In contract Home Linen (which comprises a wealth of different products such as bed linen, towels and curtains) recorded sales of £108m in January – placing it second to furniture – and of £76m in June, by which time Home Linen had become the largest sector of the homewares market.

The picture is markedly different in volume as a result of the comparative high price points of furniture. Home linen, Household goods and Tableware dominate in terms of volume sales, together accounting for 53% of all products sold. Sales levels in these three areas are consistent across the market outside of the January sales.