The latest report from AMA Research said the bathroom products market remained resilient during the coronavirus pandemic thanks to the industry’s ‘team spirit’ and the “diversity of its distribution channels”.
This diversity, it added, enabled bathroom manufacturers to “maximise both domestic and commercial opportunities and focus on the more beneficial route as demand requires”.
The report (Bathroom Market Report – UK 2020-2024) also said that the future of manufacturing companies will be driven not just by their products, but how they are perceived by the public in their response to the Covid-19 crisis.
This, said AMA Research, was built on core products well suited to the supply-and-build and healthcare sectors, meaning they were able to secure contracts directly with key developers, helping the NHS cope with the increasing pressure from the volume of Covid-19 patients by providing ventilation equipment and PPE, as well as special pipe for emergency medical use in high-profile projects such as the Royal Marsden and the Nightingale hospitals.
The industry also provided plumbing and drainage products for urgent repair and maintenance work, including at RAF and Royal Navy facilities. Some companies, said AMA Research, even donated their own PPE stock where they had surpluses, as well as supporting the community through local charity donations.
AMA Research said that with the requirements for social distancing and safety in the workplace for both the bathroom and construction industries, it was unlikely there would be a return to ‘normality’ until late 2021, if there is one at all.
Report editor Michelle Turner praised “the sense of camaraderie and team spirit that has resonated throughout the bathroom industry”.
She added that “as a result of Covid-19, allies and competitors alike have been working together to protect their businesses, their industry and their economy overall, showing the resilience and importance of some of the products within the UK bathroom market today”.
She concluded: “Companies can feel proud that they are truly adaptable in the face of adversity. It can be seen very clearly within this market and this is what will help protect the market and its companies going forward.”
The report anticipated that the value of the UK bathroom market would recover, albeit at a slow to moderate pace in the short term.
It also suggested that market value would be influenced not only by the cumulative effects of Covid-19, but also current and further expected currency fluctuations as a result of Brexit proceedings from the start of 2021.
AMA Research said it expected stronger market performance towards the end of 2024.