Table of Contents
Introduction and Abbreviations
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- Definition
- Consumer research
- ACORN
- Advertising data
- Abbreviations
Premier Insight
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- Moving away from the vagaries of the housing market
- Reviving the lap tray
- Lessons from the fridge market
- The MOHO to replace the SOHO
- Celebrity endorsements
- Large and stronger furniture products required
Executive Summary
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- Buoyant housing market has been largely positive…
- ...but retraction in consumer spending effecting a market slowdown
- Space and furniture requirements change with length of residency
- Leather is the main driver in upholstered furniture
- Sideboards and TV/entertainment units are popular purchases
- Vertically integrated businesses keep ahead of the competition
- DFS success is based on high advertising spend
- Impact of changing household structure
- Impact of the media
- Homebase and Argos lead the offensive against the furniture specialists
- Changing the way of life in the future
Market Drivers
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- House moves impact on demand for living room furniture
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- Figure 1: Length of time in present home, 2000-05
- PDI and consumer expenditure continue to rise
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- Figure 2: PDI and consumer expenditure, 2000-05
- Personal debt, a burden or boost?
- Owner-occupation continues to rise
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- Figure 3: Household stock, by tenure, 2000-05
- Household size
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- Figure 4: Household size, 2000 and 2005
- Smaller households demand different furniture pieces
- Extending the living space
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- Figure 5: Household ownership of home extensions, 2001-05
- Home improvement – a ‘popular’ leisure activity
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- Figure 6: Agreement with selected lifestyle statements, 2000-04
- Home improvements and home style magazines
- Impact of decline in family eating together regularly, and rise in home entertaining
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- Figure 7: Agreement with the statement ‘We usually have family meals at the weekend’ and ‘I enjoy entertaining people at home’, by gender, age and socio-economic group, 2001-05
- Decline in formal eating
- Cocooning driving home entertainment at home
- Homeworking and the rise of the laptop are changing working practices
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- Figure 8: Ownership of PCs, 2001-05
Market Size
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- Furniture sales suffer first when the consumer feelgood factor goes
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- Figure 9: UK retail sales of living room furniture, by value, 2000-05
Market Segmentation
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- Upholstered furniture has a shorter replacement cycle
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- Figure 10: UK retail sales of upholstered and non-upholstered living room furniture, by value, 2002 and 2004
- Leather growing in popularity as product prices fall
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- Figure 11: UK retail sales of living room upholstered furniture, by type and value, 2002 and 2004
- Lift and rise chairs live up to their name in the marketplace
- Ready-assembled furniture assembles a lead over flatpack
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- Figure 12: UK retail sales of cabinet and occasional living room furniture, by method of assembly and value, 2002 and 2004
The Supply Structure
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- Company share
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- Figure 13: Estimated manufacturer share of UK sales of living room furniture*, by retail value, 2002 and 2004
- Vertically integrated businesses compete more effectively
- Level of brand recognition is low
- Major companies and brands
- Sofa Brands International
- DFS Furniture Company plc
- Ekornes Ltd
- Ercol Furniture Limited
- IKEA
- MFI Furniture Group
- Vale Upholstery Limited with Bridgecraft Furniture Limited
- JDP Furniture Group Limited with Wade Furniture Group and Multiyork Furniture Limited
- Stag Furniture (UK) Ltd
- La-Z-Boy Incorporated
- Thomas Lloyd Group
New Product Developments and Trends
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- The TV, the computer and the DVD determine furniture design
- Conservatories add an extra living room requiring lighter furniture designs
- Hard woods and painted pine are stealing a march on natural pine
- Versatile, multi-functional and collapsible furniture items to suit small spaces and multi-purpose rooms
- The flatpack revolution is extended to sofas
- New shades and styles of leather upholstery expand the mass market
- Impact of health and safety issues on living room furniture production and demand
Advertising and Promotion
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- Figure 14: Main monitored media advertising expenditure on living and dining room furniture, 2000-05
- Company spend
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- Figure 15: Top ten main monitored media advertisers for living and dining room furniture, by company spend, 2003 and 2004
- DFS ranks among top-spending UK advertisers in 2004
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- Figure 16: Top ten brands by adspend, October 2005
- Media expenditure on living and dining room furniture by media channel
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- Figure 17: Main monitored media advertising expenditure on living and dining room furniture, by media channel, 2004 and 2005
- Advertising around bank holidays
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- Figure 18: Main monitored media advertising expenditure on living and dining room furniture, by month, January 2004-December 2005
- Below-the-line promotions
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Distribution
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- Furniture multiples dominate
- Tough time for established retailers
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- Figure 19: UK retail sales of living room furniture, by type of outlet and value, 2002 and 2004
- Homebase is leading the offensive from the DIY multiples
- Internet and catalogue marketing are the dynamic retail sectors
- Selected leading multiples
- IKEA
- MFI Furniture Group
- DFS Furniture Company plc
- ScS Upholstery plc
- Heal’s plc
- Land of Leather
- Furniture Village
- Multiyork
- Kingdom of Leather and Natuzzi spa
- Reid Furniture
- Homestyle Group plc
- Department stores
- House of Fraser
- Marks & Spencer
- Debenhams
- DIY multiples
- Focus
- Homebase
- Catalogue shops and mail order
- Argos
- Supermarkets
- Asda
- Tesco
- Living Room Furniture on the Internet
- Channel for information
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- Figure 20: Top ten most visited UK home and garden retail websites, week to 19 November 2005
- Broadband opening up opportunities
- Pinesolutions UK
- Satellite shopping channels
The Consumer
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- Household Layout
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- Figure 21: Living room/area layout in household, September-October 2005
- Home living area layout
- AB consumers are key target market
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- Figure 22: Agreement with selected statements, by socio-economic group, September-October 2005
- Potential at two levels
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- Figure 23: Agreement with selected statements, by Mintel’s Special Groups, September-October 2005
- Space and furniture requirements change with length of residency
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- Figure 24: Agreement with selected statements, by length of current residence and household tenure, September-October 2005
- Combined is affordable
- Purchasing triggers
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- Figure 25: Purchasing triggers for living room furniture, September-October 2005
- House moves and redecoration are primary drivers
- Barriers to credit lowering
- Young adults a key target market
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- Figure 26: Purchasing triggers, by age, September-October 2005
- Affluence is a key indictor
- Broadsheet vs commercial TV advertising
- Purchase incentives for movers
- Items of furniture owned, by type
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- Figure 27: Items of furniture owned, June 2005
- Home entertainment takes precedence in the living area
- Comfort and entertainment largely dictate furniture requirements
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- Figure 28: Number of items of furniture owned, June 2005
- Six is the magic number
- CHAID analysis
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- Figure 29: Optimal target groups for ownership of furniture pieces, June 2005
- Length of tenure determines need
Detailed Demographics
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- Household layout
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- Figure 30: Living room/area layout in household, by gender, age and socio-economic group, September-October 2005
- Figure 31: Living room/area layout in household, by presence of children, lifestage and Mintel’s Special Groups, September-October 2005
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- Figure 32: Living room/area layout in household, by marital status, working status and household size, September-October 2005
- Figure 33: Living room/area layout in household, by region and ACORN category, September-October 2005
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- Figure 34: Living room/area layout in household, by media usage, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, September-October 2005
- Figure 35: Living room/area layout in household, by length of current residence and household tenure, September-October 2005
- Purchasing Triggers
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- Figure 36: Purchasing triggers for living room furniture, by gender, age and socio-economic group, September-October 2005
- Figure 37: Purchasing triggers for living room furniture, by presence of children, lifestage and Mintel’s Special Groups, September-October 2005
- Figure 38: Purchasing triggers for living room furniture, by marital status, working status and household size, September-October 2005
- Figure 39: Purchasing triggers for living room furniture, by region and ACORN category, September-October 2005
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- Figure 40: Purchasing triggers for living room furniture, by media usage, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, September-October 2005
- Figure 41: Purchasing triggers for living room furniture, by length of current residence and household tenure, September-October 2005
The Consumer – Attitudes and Behaviours
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- Figure 42: Attitudes towards the living room area, September-October 2005
- The TV room
- A generation of couch potatoes
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- Figure 43: Agreement with selected statements, by age, September-October 2005
- Affluent young have greatest need for viewing sofas
- Socio-economic status
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- Figure 44: Agreement with selected statements, by socio-economic group, September-October 2005
- AB consumers enjoy formal family meals
- Living room diners best reached by TV ads
- Long-term residents receptive to new additions
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- Figure 45: Agreement with statement ‘I had an extension built to increase by living space’, by ACORN category and length of current residence, September-October 2005
- Cross-selling potential
- Leather vs fabric sofas
- Mid-market success on the cards
- Affluent families can be encouraged to purchase
- Workers’ choice
- Desire for leather stretches across the economic divide
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Detailed Demographics – Attitudes and Behaviours
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- Figure 46: Attitudes towards the living room area, by gender, age and socio-economic group, September-October 2005
- Figure 47: Attitudes towards the living room area, by presence of children, lifestage and Mintel’s Special Groups, September-October 2005
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- Figure 48: Attitudes towards the living room area, by marital status, working status and household size, September-October 2005
- Figure 49: Attitudes towards the living room area, by region and ACORN category, September-October 2005
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- Figure 50: Attitudes towards the living room area, by media usage, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, September-October 2005
- Figure 51: Attitudes towards the living room area, by length of current residence and household tenure, September-October 2005
- Leather Vs fabric
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- Figure 52: Attitudes towards leather vs fabric sofas, by gender, age and socio-economic group, June 2005
- Figure 53: Attitudes towards leather vs fabric sofas, by presence of children, lifestage and Mintel’s Special Groups, June 2005
- Figure 54: Attitudes towards leather vs fabric sofas, by marital status, working status and household size, June 2005
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- Figure 55: Attitudes towards leather vs fabric sofas, by region and ACORN category, June 2005
- Figure 56: Attitudes towards leather vs fabric sofas, by media usage, commercial TV viewing and supermarket usage, June 2005
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- Figure 57: Attitudes towards leather vs fabric sofas, by household tenure and length of current residence, June 2005
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The Future
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- Home ownership and mobility fuel the market
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- Figure 58: Household stock, by tenure, 2005-10
- Multi-functional furniture designed for the smaller household is a priority
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- Figure 59: Household stock, by household size, 2005 and 2010
- Home improvement means more furniture sales
- Increasing presence of the large retailers in the market
- Growth of the Internet
Forecast
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- Figure 60: Forecast of UK retail sales of living room furniture, 2005-10
- Growth forecast set to rise
- Smaller households helping growth
- Factors incorporated in the forecast
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