What you need to know
The most important area of demand for plumbing products is the replacement market, strongly associated with the repair, maintenance and improvement (RMI) activity. Kitchens and bathrooms are among the most important rooms for home owners to personalise their homes and make lifestyle choices. Yet the high cost of replacement causes some hesitancy in investment in times of economic uncertainty, which is currently being associated with the Brexit decision, though employment appears plentiful according to official statistics, suggesting there should be greater certainty over such investments. A key factor in the decision has long been associated with house price inflation which gives the home owner the impression that the expenditure is also an investment as well as a lifestyle statement. These markets have been boosted by other fashion trends. En suite bathrooms are now widely found in new houses and have become a common retrofit in older properties. The more recent trend in kitchens is for open-plan living, with the kitchen not only becoming the eating area but now often being incorporated in the living area. In the longer term this may well lead to more frequent refurbishment of kitchens.
The central heating market is much more of a ‘grudge’ purchase for replacement purposes, but the installation of modern efficient boilers is critical to government emission targets and so various government incentives have been used to try to boost the market.
Covered in this Report
This Report covers the UK market and industry for plumbing products, comprising domestic central heating products, commercial heating products, water heating products, bathroom and sanitary ware products, tubes, pipes and fittings and kitchen products.
For the purposes of this Report, the UK domestic central heating market has been defined as follows:
Boilers
Radiators
Heat controls
Pumps
The UK commercial heating market has been defined as follows:
Commercial boilers
Steel radiators
Other radiators
Heat emitters
Warm air heaters
Radiant heaters
The UK bathroom and sanitary ware market has been defined as follows:
Baths
Sanitary ware
Sinks
Taps & mixers
Showers
Bathroom accessories
The UK tubes, pipes and fittings market for plumbing has been defined as follows:
Copper tube
Copper fittings
Plastic pressure pipes & fittings
Plastic non-pressure pipes & fittings
