Kitchen worktop sales ‘will continue to outpace furniture market’

Growing demand for more expensive materials in kitchen worktops and those with integrated basins will continue to power the market over the next few years, new research has found.

AMA Research predicted that the UK kitchen and bathroom worktop market will grow by a fifth (21%) by 2022, after growing 13% over the past three years.

The company’s Domestic Kitchen and Bathroom Worktops Market Report – UK 2018-2022 said value growth in kitchen worktops, which account for 95% of the overall domestic worktop market, will be slightly ahead of the wider kitchen furniture market in the medium term – continuing a trend observed over the past few years.

This it said reflects a shift to higher value worktops, such as granite and quartz, and a trend for larger worktop areas, such as islands and peninsulas with waterfall worktops.

Earlier this month, taps-and-sinks manufacturer Franke announced it was bringing its top-of-the-range, bespoke stainless steel worktops to the UK as a result of pent-up demand for unusual and interesting work surface materials.

Meanwhile Cosentino will unveil this week a new range of   concrete-inspired surfaces for its Dekton ultra-compact and Silestone quartz brands.

AMA research said the development of stone and engineered stone products for worktops in bespoke installations had eaten into the growth of laminates, but laminates still dominated the kitchen worktops market, making up almost half of all kitchen worktops installed by value, and almost 75% by volume.

Meanwhile, the bathroom worktop market has followed a growth pattern similar to the bathroom furniture market, according to AMA Research, mainly due to a lower level of separate worktop replacements in this sector compared with the kitchen sector.

In the bathroom, the report found the material mix is different from the kitchen.

Laminates still dominate this market, making up more than 60% of material used in terms of value. This is followed by solid surface and composite materials.

“The rest of the market is made up by stone and other materials, but so far, stone has not made the headway in this sector that it has in the kitchen worktops market,” the report said.

In both markets, the major distribution channel continues to be builders and plumbing merchants, followed by studios and showrooms. The DIY multiples have lost market share.

The report predicted the sale of kitchens with installation included is likely to increase, with many large suppliers now promoting this service.

It highlighted that one of the major differences between the kitchen and bathroom worktops sectors is that within the bathroom sector a larger proportion of worktops are incorporated into the furniture itself.

“The market for kitchen and bathroom worktops is expected to achieve reasonably good growth and is forecast to increase by 21% in value terms between 2017 and 2022, although the volume and price of imported materials is expected to account for a proportion of that increase,” said Hayley Thornley, Market Research Manager at AMA Research.

  • Picture above taken from the Roundhouse Design showroom in Wigmore Street, London.
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