Læs om møbler Læs om beklædning Møbelmarkedet
Storbritanniens boligmarked er blandt de største på verdensplan. Storbritannien er Danmarks fjerde største møbelmarked efter Tyskland, Norge og Sverige og udgjorde i 2008 8% af den danske møbeleksport. For 2009 gælder det, at specielt boligmøbelmarkedet er blevet hårdt ramt af recessionen, mens kontraktvaremar-kedet har klaret sig noget bedre – specielt den offentlige del af markedet grundet store offentlige investeringer. Samlet forventes møbeleksporten i 2009 at være faldet med næsten 30%, idet danske virksomheder har haft svært ved at konkurrere i et presset marked ved en lav pundkurs.
I Storbritannien afhænger møbelforbruget på privatmarkedet i høj grad af boligtype. Boligejere bruger langt flere penge på møbler og boligudstyr end boliglejere. Forklaringen ligger i, at udlejede boliger (huse, lejligheder, kollegier) ofte er fuldt møbleret. Husholdninger med høje indkomster er mere tilbøjelige til at eje eget hus, og dette markedssegment bruger derfor også betydelig større beløb på møbler; de 10% af befolkningen med den højeste indkomst køber næsten ti gange så mange møbler som de 10% af befolkningen med den laveste indkomst. Derudover er der i Storbritannien, som i Danmark, sket en stigning i antallet af husholdninger bestående af kun en person. I næsten en ud af ti husstande bor der nu kun én person, og denne ratio forventes at stige yderligere til fire ud af ti i løbet af de næste 20 år. Møbler og boligprodukter er efterhånden blevet ”livsstilsprodukter”, hvor udskiftning sker oftere i takt med nye trends. Møbler er traditionelt set blevet betragtet som langvarige forbrugsvarer, men den tiltagende fokus på hjemmet og indretning har bevirket at dele af møbelindustrien nu i højere grad dikteres af sæsonfarver og nye stilarter. Som følge heraf foretrækker mange modeforbrugere at købe billigere designmøbler frem for dyre højkvalitetsmøbler med lang holdbarhed, hvilket muliggør en hyppigere udskiftning end tidligere. Det er således værd at bemærke, at ønsket om design ikke er ensbetydende med eksklusive møbler, men møbler der typisk befinder sig i den danske mellemklasse. Denne tendens ses bl.a. i fremgangen for bolighuse som IKEA, Habitat, Heals, John Lewis, Argos og Littlewoods. Endvidere ses der en tendens til at supermarkeder som Tesco og Asda samt byggemarkedskæderne B&Q, Homebase og Focus udbyder flere og flere møbler i lavprisklassen men med fokus på kontinentalt design. Den kontinentale minimalistiske stil vinder således frem i alle prisklasser og på alle kvalitetsniveauer. Virksomheder, restauranter, caféer m.fl. stræber ligesom privatmarkedet efter en moderne kontinental stil. En medvirkende årsag hertil kan findes i forbrugernes kun svagt stigende privatforbrug, hvilket giver større konkurrence på nogle erhvervsmarkeder. Den stigende konkurrence gør det vigtigt at differentiere sig samt at fremstå med det ”rigtige” image, hvilket bl.a. kan opnås gennem designmøbler. Eksklusive designmøbler er fortsat en niche i Storbritannien, som er under meget skarp konkurrence med tyske og italienske producenter. Hovedparten af kontormøblerne sælges fortsat på pris, men tendensen for møbler med større designmæssig værdi er bestemt i vækst. Markedsevaluering
Danske producenter skal generelt være opmærksomme på, at der er en intens konkurrence på det britiske møbelmarked, der knapt nok er kommet ud af 6 kvartaler med recession, og det er derfor vigtigt, at der lægges vægt på fysisk tilstedeværelse på markedet samt anderledes og kreative PR og markedsføringskampagner. Trods den forholdsvis korte geografiske afstand mellem Danmark og Storbritannien eksisterer der også nogle grundlæggende forskelle i forretningsetikette, som danske producenter bør forholde sig til. Det er således altafgørende, at danske producenter prioriterer personlig kontakt samt dialog for at få succes på det britiske marked.
For yderligere oplysninger om Danmarks Eksportråd - UKs aktiviteter eller det britiske bolig- og møbelmarked generelt, kontakt Lars Christiansen.Links
http://www.designcouncil.org.ukhttp://www.100percentdesign.co.uk
The Market for Clothing and Accessories Great Britain is an important export market for the Danish textile and clothing industry. It is the fifth largest export market, Germany being the largest. In 2008, Denmark exported for 1.884 million DKK to Great Britain, a 19.1 % decrease from 2007. Within the clothing industry, Great Britain is Denmark's 7th largest export market with a total export value of 993 million DKK in 2008. Economic Climate 2010 - Still Crisis but Economic Positivity Growth within the retail sectors, including clothing and textiles, has slowed down significantly over the past couple of years, and there have been several casualties among the smaller operators as costs rise and debt levels become unsustainable. The English economy has had a small growth in the fouth quarter of 2009 at 0.1%. Due to the small increase, consumers will continue to be cautious. However retailers had a strong trading period over Christmas which have added to growing confidence in the sector.High quality market leaders are experiencing difficult times, young fashion appears to be resilient, where middle-market/ low-price apparel brands such as Primark, Top Shop, Next and Zara may be showing the way forward. As an example Primark is expecting like-for-like sales to be up 7% for the full year with total sales and profits well ahead of last year. During the course of the past few years, the disposable income has come under attack amongst others due to higher inflation and increasing tax pressures. Combined with increasing overheads in the consumers’ monthly budget, e.g. mortgages, fuel, utilities and even groceries, the economic downturn has had significant impact on consumer goods. Consequently, consumer goods such as fashion are experiencing a much slower growth. Market Indicators The clothing industri is one of the most competetive and fragmented retail sectors in the UK. There is a very strong high street. Consequently, the market structure in the sector dominated by chains which control around 75% of the market.The British consumers are among the consumers in Europe that spend most money on clothing. Approximately 5% of an average salary in Great Britain is spent on clothes and shoes. (Source: ONS Family Spending Survey and National Statistics). On average, the British spend £21.60 per week (2008) on clothes and footwear. During the past 10 years, the UK fashion retail industry has seen rather dramatic changes in price level compared to the overall global price development, and also the market structure has changed significantly. Retailers' own brands make up the majority of the market especially within the womenswear sector. Premium brands account for a larger share of the menswear market than within both childrenswear and womenswear. As regards to price changes, the fashion market in general has experienced continually lower prices. The market structure today is characterised by years of consolidation. There has been a great shift in the nature of the retailers in the Top 10 since the turn of the century, and this reflects the nature of change on the high street. In 2000, the Top 10 was dominated by the middle market retailers, and just three of the Top 10 retailers were regarded as value operators (George, New Look and Matalan). This figure has now increased to five with the addition of the Peacock Group and TK Maxx. (Source: Verdict Research) The market has grown by a CAGR 2.3% over the last 7 years and with a similar rate over the last three years. (CAGR: Compounded Annual Growth Rate). The mid-market has shown slower growth than the overall clothing market over the last decade which has continued in 2007 and 2008. During the last decade, the value retailers have gained bigger market shares as has the supermarkets. (Source: Deutsche Bank) However, a strong discount sector in UK has led to extensive price deflation. Though this has driven high volumes in the UK, it makes sales value growth more difficult to achieve. It is the childrenswear market that has seen the greatest volume growth during the past decade, and is proving to be resilient in the face of the recession. In 2008 the childrenswear market grew an estimated 2.4%. However, all four segments have seen very impressive growth rates. Online sales Internet retailing grew 21% in value terms in 2008 to over £16 billion, and it is predicted to see 14% constant value CAGR over forecast period to reach almost £32 billion in 2013. Despite the effect of the economic slowdown on consumer spending in the high street, online sales remain strong. The channel’s strength is its reputation for offering the cheapest prices and the ease of price comparison, meaning that it is now the first choice for shopping for cost-conscious consumers. As the penetration of broadband grows within the UK, the proportion of online consumers within all age groups is rising. This has the potential to make the channel attractive to new retailers, or affect the product mix of existing online stores to target the entire population. Market Evaluation Great Britain is the 3rd largest clothing market in Europe and is worth well over £45 billion. There are more than 60 million consumers spending approximately 5% of their salary on clothing. The Britons are very fashion conscious, and consequently there is a high volume turnover of clothes. The market structure has changed significantly during the last decade, resulting in a very strong high-street, and grocers taking up more and more market share. Danish fashion is, however, still highly regarded among the British buyers and agents. And while there are fewer independents and department stores than ten years ago, these still make up a considerable market share. Furthermore, online sales are expected to grow to10-15% during the next three years which poses a good entry point for Danish companies to enter the British market.The current economic climate possesses challenges as well as a number of opportunities. Shops are now all the more concerned with getting the right brand-mix in place, leaving new opportunities for innovative and exciting collections. The British shops are still buying into international collections as these make up an important part of the British fashion scene.Competitive prices/margins and high quality are ever more important selling points, although margins are expected, from both sides, to go down slightly. Also competition is likely to decrease as many companies become more cautious. Lower rents and falling house prices give rise to an easier entrance for those companies considering establishing a subsidiary or own retail set-up as well as a more profitable trading climate for retailers in general. The commercial section at the Embassy in London works in several ways to support and promote Danish clothing companies in Great Britain. We organise different types of events, seminars, fashion shows, product launches and individual or joint agent and distributor searches for Danish companies. We also offer up-to-date market information and tailored analyses as well as general guidance and advice. For further information about the British market, please contact sector responsible Carina Vester Simonsen.
