If you're struggling to combat the mid-market squeeze, you're certainly not alone. Rebecca Nottingham gets the views and reactions of a range of industry experts....

There's no denying that market conditions are challenging. While constant reminders about the recession do nothing to reinstate calm and confidence in the economy, they serve to allow people to acknowledge the problems and adapt accordingly.  

Post-recession consumers have become much more price-conscious and this has caused a polarisation of the market. Not only has the recession shrunk the market by reducing the number of consumers willing to part with cash, but in doing so it appears to have condensed the market into two significant camps - low end and the very high end. Signs suggest that consumers who fall into the mid-market category can no longer see the value in mid-market products, so are either migrating to the very top or very bottom ends of the market. This has left those that trade in the mid-market in a extremely vulnerable position.

"The market is polarising down and up and the middle is just dying," strong words from Mark Prince, managing director of newly-formed Silverdale Bathrooms. As the manufacturer of premium brand BC Sanitan, Prince may well be experiencing the positive effect of the polarisation, but his frank views have been echoed by a number of suppliers and retailers all convinced that we are in the midst of a mid-market squeeze.

"I've not met anyone who doesn't recognise that the market has polarised," says Neil Horton, Bushboard's commercial director. "I find people saying they're either selling cheap or expensive kitchens and that the product that was in the middle part of the market has disappeared."

Sales and marketing director Neil Clark, confirmed that Carron Phoenix had also identified signs of a pressure on the mid-market. "The demand for exclusive products is more or less where we hoped it would be," he said. "It's still fairly strong. The entry level sector is also holding up pretty well, it's the middle ground that's tough. We're having to give away accessories to keep selling products in the mid-market. The middle ground has definitely moved down, or consumers in that sector are looking for better value, like free accessories."

So how is the wider industry dealing and adapting to the squeeze?

"We're having to diversify more and more with some of the more upmarket projects because money at that end isn't affected by the current downturn," explains Graham Allen, contract and specification representative for builders merchants Fayers. "We've been trying to up-sell as much as we can and seek out specifiers that are in that market."

Michael Copp, the owner of mid-market Dream Bedrooms and Kitchens, in Essex, told kbbreview that he has seen a significant change in consumer attitudes and spending since the downturn. "Because of the current climate everyone's penny-pinching. I could try and point out the benefits of more expensive ranges until I'm blue in the face but if a product looks similar on the surface and comes out at £2,500 less we're finding more and more people will go for the cheaper option every time, " he says. "I think that's where kitchen manufac-turers have to wise up on this and come up with ways retailers can combat this attitude. On the other side, there's the customer that's willing to pay that bit extra to ensure they get a quality finish."

And it's not just the KBB industry that's feeling the squeeze. Despite investing a hefty £500 million on a price-cutting campaign to battle a decline in sales, mid-market supermarket chain Tesco recently announced a profit warning and dip in market share.

Roger Crabb, Mira's marketing manager points out the similarities: "The departure of Tesco's chief executive Richard Brasher in March, following a profits warning and dip in market share, is a stark reminder that the mythic 'middle' is perhaps the sector hardest hit by the economic downturn. Tesco's problem is that it is neither the cheapest - discounters Aldi and Lidl are doing fine, nor the best - Waitrose is cleaning up at the top of the market."

Like Prince and Silverdale Bathrooms, there are in fact companies experiencing positive effects from this shift in the market. Manufacturers and retailers, whose interests lie at the top and bottom ends of the market, are reaping the rewards from the migration of the mid-market consumer.

And despite the evidence to suggest that a market polarisation is in full swing, it appears that a number of companies are still targeting this sector. As Nobilia's managing director Keith Barker points out, even when under immense pressure, the mid-market remains the largest sector. "I think what's actually happened is that the mid-market sector has dropped by around 30%, but if you're a brand or a retailer selling to the mid-market, you're still in the largest slice of the cake. My advice to struggling retailers would be to look at how they sell kitchens."

Christer Miller, managing director of bathroom furniture specialist Miller of Sweden says "the middle section is actually more interesting to us. People are going downmarket from solid to veneer, only by a couple of hundred pounds. I'd rather say people are migrating towards the middle market, that's where we're going. We are the top and top middle so we need to look at the middle a bit more."

Despite the devastating effects the recession has had on the economy, it appears that the wider KBB industry is now starting to fight back in a bid to combat the squeeze. The general reaction has been to introduce new brands and products, which either sit above or below the middle ground, to increase market opportunities and appeal to a wider audience.

There is a hint of optimism in the air and it seems most are treating the issues the recession has thrown at them as a learning curve, albeit a very steep one.