Home Office Furniture- UK

Published by: Mintel International Group Ltd.

Published: Feb. 1, 2007 - 119 Pages

Table of Contents

Issues in the Market

Key themes

Definitions

Market in Brief

Stronger market demand

New product development is more upmarket

Furniture landscape is changing

Internal Market Environment

The PC is a focus in the home

Figure 1: Household ownership of PCs, 2002-06

Growth in peripherals - where to put them?

Furnishing inspiration

Figure 2: Agreement with lifestyle statements, 2002-06

Broader Market Environment

Rise in homeworking

Figure 3: Self-employed and homeworking, 2002-06

Healthy economic prospects

Figure 4: Index of PDI and consumer expenditure, at constant 2001 prices, 2001-11

Favourable inflation rates

Figure 5: UK inflation rates, all goods and household goods UK, 2001-06

The housing market

Figure 6: House prices, transactions and average number of years between moves, 2001-11

More house purchases means more furniture

Figure 7: Household tenure, 2001-11

More one-person households

Population trends

Figure 8: Trends and projections in UK population (000s), by age group, 2001-11

Competitive Context

The furniture market

Figure 9: Retail sales of in-home furniture, 2001-06

Successful sectors

Figure 10: Annual percentage change in furniture sales, 2001-06

Furniture retailing in the doldrums

Strengths and Weaknesses in the Market

Strengths

Weaknesses

Market Value and Forecast

Key points:

Home office furniture weathers furniture downturn

Figure 11: UK retail sales of home office furniture, 2001-06

Future growth prospects

Figure 12: Forecast of the UK home office furniture market, 2001-11

Factors incorporated in the forecast

Segment Performance

Strong backing for flatpacks

Figure 13: UK retail sales of home office furniture, by assembly method, 2002-06

Desks are driving growth

Figure 14: UK retail sales of home office furniture, by type of product, 2002-06

Future potential

Market Share

Companies and Products

Furniture suppliers

Tvilum-Scanbirk

Bush Europe

Sharps Home Office

Retailer Profiles

IKEA

Argos

John Lewis

MFI

Office suppliers:

Staples/Office World

PC World

DIY retailers

B&Q

Homebase

Brand Communication

Advertising spend remains low

Figure 15: Main monitored media advertising expenditure on home office furniture, 2001-06

Staples dominates adspend

Figure 16: Main monitored media spenders in office furniture and storage systems, by advertiser, 2002-06

Channels to Market

Figure 17: UK retail sales of home office furniture, by value, by type of outlet, 2002-06

Internet retailing

The Consumer - Ownership

Working patterns

Working patterns

Figure 18: Employment status, October 2006

PC ownership

Figure 19: Number of PCs in household, 2006

Home office furniture owned

Figure 20: Ownership of home office furniture, October 2006

Workstations are here to stay?

Figure 21: Top five pieces of home office furniture owned, October 2006

Functional home furnishings

The Consumer - Purchase Decision

Price points

Figure 22: Expenditure on home office furinture, October 2006

Multifunctional rooms

Figure 23: Room in which home office furniture is kept, October 2006

Varied distribution

Figure 24: Where home office furniture is bought, October 2006

Choices

Figure 25: Factors* determining home office furniture choice, October 2006

Appendix

Consumer research

ACORN

Advertising data

Abbreviations

Internal Market Environment

Figure 28: Household ownership of PCs, by gender, age, socio-economic group, presence of children, marital status, working status, household size, region, lifestage and Mintel’s Special Groups, 2006

Figure 29: UK employment status, 2001-11

Figure 30: Self-employed and homeworking, by gender, age, socio-economic group, presence of children, marital status, working status, household size, region, Mintel’s Special Groups and lifestage, 2006

Figure 31: UK households and one-person households, 2001-11

Figure 32: Population trends, by socio-economic group, 2001-11

Market Value and Forecast

Figure 33: UK housing market, 1996-2006

The Consumer - Ownership of furniture

Figure 34: Number of PCs in household*, by gender, age, socio-economic group, presence of children, marital status, working status, household size, region, Mintel’s Special Groups and lifestage, 2006

Figure 35: Ownership of home office furniture, by gender, age, socio-economic group, region, lifestage, working status, household income, household size, commercial TV viewing, Internet usage, presence of children, newspaper readership, supermarket usage and homeworking, October 2006

Figure 36: Number of PCs in household, by gender, age, socio-economic group, presence of children, marital status, working status, household size, region, lifestage and Mintel’s Special Groups, 2006

The Consumer - Purchase Decision

Figure 37: Expenditure on home office furinture, by gender, age, socio-economic group, region, lifestage, working status, household income, household size, commercial TV viewing, Internet usage, presence of children, newspaper readership, supermarket usage and homeworking, October 2006

Figure 38: Room that home office is kept, by gender, age, socio-economic group, region, lifestage, working status, household income, household size, commercial TV viewing, Internet usage, presence of children, newspaper readership, supermarket usage and homeworking, October 2006

Figure 39: Where home office furniture is bought, by gender, age, socio-economic group, region, lifestage, working status, household income, household size, commercial TV viewing, Internet usage, presence of children, newspaper readership, supermarket usage and homeworking, October 2006

Figure 40: Cross-analysis of furniture owned, by what bought, October 2006

The Consumer - Further Analysis

Figure 41: Repertoire of furniture owned, by gender, age, socio-economic group, region, lifestage, working status, household income, household size, commercial TV viewing, Internet usage, presence of children, newspaper readership, supermarket usage and homeworking, October 2006

Figure 42: Consumer typologies, by gender, age, socio-economic group, region, lifestage, working status, household income, commercial TV viewing, household size, Internet usage, presence of children, newspaper readership, supermarket usage and homeworking, October 2006

Figure 43: Consumer typologies, by factors determining home office furniture choice, October 2006

Figure 44: Consumer typologies, by where furniture is purchased, October 2006

Figure 45: Prices paid for home office furniture, by consumer typologies, October 2006

Figure 46: Home office furniture owned, by consumer typologies, October 2006

Figure 47: Where home office furniture kept, by consumer typologies, October 2006

Abstract

In terms of NPD, stylishness is likely to be big. Demand for good quality, compatible pieces could grow, particularly if they are of modern design. Manufacturers need to consider price points, but many consumers seem prepared to pay for quality. Exciting room layouts could also give a boost to the sector and mitigate trends discussed above. There is a need to inject excitement into this market.

There is no sign that workstations have had their day, however. Demand for low-priced multi functional pieces shows no sign of abating, although they may become more stylish in design and more easily accommodated in different rooms of the house.

Key themes

• Flexible work practices, meaning increasing numbers of employees work from home occasionally and the increase in the number of self-employed people have also helped fuel demand for home office furniture.
• Furniture retailing is highly responsive to changes in the housing market, and helped by relatively low interest rates the housing market has remained buoyant.
• Demand for big-ticket items such as kitchens and living room furniture slowed down, however, home office furniture was somewhat protected by the fact that most items in this market are not relatively expensive.
• Ownership of workstations is much higher than it was two years ago (33%) when research was last carried out (albeit, previous research was carried out on a sample of 991 adults aged 15+, and the research was not done online).
• Workstations are the most popular item of home office furniture, helped by the fact that over 70% of households own a PC in their homes in the UK. They are a relatively space-saving item of furniture negating the need for a separate standard/writing desk and computer table.

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