Rob Stainthorpe, director of CLS, analyses the UK kitchen lighting market...

The UK furniture lighting sector has endured a volatile period of trading over the past 12 months but there are signs of a modest recovery in the last quarter.

Obviously with reductions of 50-60% in the number of new homes being constructed some significant volume has disappeared from the market - however some of this has been replaced by a resilient retail sector supported by historically low interest rates.

The awareness of furniture lighting as an important constituent part of kitchen design continues to grow and is also, with the increase in the value levels of the new ranges available, a welcome additional income stream for the dealer.

Over the last two to three years, with the general emphasis on energy efficiency, lighting manufacturers have invested heavily in alternative light sources. This has resulted in increased market share for two specific lamp groups namely LED (Light Emitting Diode) and CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamps).

With the flexibility offered by LED the design opportunities are now vast and this in turn gives a significant increase in the furniture lighting ranges that we now have available to the market.

Due to the characteristics of LED we are now able to highlight virtually any area within the kitchen. With increasingly smaller footprints available on new builds and the trend to have the kitchen and dining area combined there is an increased demand for kitchen lighting to provide a working and ambient light alternative within the design. 

LED can sometimes be price sensitive when directly compared to the mass produced halogen and CFL has become a product which has fitted well into the niche between the two.

We have seen significant increases in volume for this product group, while not being the most aesthetically pleasing product it provides high light output combined with typically a three-fold increase in lamp life over the halogen standard product, being a mains supply product installation is quicker and for the consumer has a simple lamp replacement system compared to the halogen option.

Despite all of the facts and figures above, halogen lighting remains as our best selling product range.

We expect to see a continued, but slow, recovery in UK lighting sales over the next 12 months and an increase in the level of market share for our sustainable lighting products as market awareness increases among our sector and consumers.