“Made in America” Furniture Faces Darwinian Cost Pressures
Nick Stene
With US demand softening and domestic production inflation still a factor, the 2023-2024 bankruptcies and layoffs in the furniture sector are warning flags that geographic exposure to cost is strategically existential. Attention here is once again focusing on production locations, in the face of some harsh numbers.
Top Three Trends Changing Gardening Spend
Siddharth Ganguly
Gardening is more popular than ever, experiencing a renaissance over the pandemic and becoming more interesting for investment and broader export opportunities. Three trends drive gardening spend priorities. Lawn space has been giving way to growing space. Compost sales indicate regional priority gaps between the rise of growing-your-own food versus decorative plants. Peat-free claims and innovation grow, because global compost leaders face strict UK regulation in their home market.
Key Trends in Home and Garden: Western Europe and Asia Pacific Case Studies
Jeremy Roberts
Sustained high inflation has hit sales of home and garden products across most of Western Europe, as well as in many countries in the Asia Pacific region. With consumer confidence shaken by rising prices, exerting downward pressure on people’s purchasing power, shoppers are postponing purchases of big-ticket items like furniture, as they prioritise spending on daily essentials.
DIY Brands Unable to Pass on Inflation Costs
Nick Stene
Abnormal cost inflation has caused waves of pain for companies since late 2020, but our new Inflation Projection Tool launched in July 2023 strongly indicates that tools and hardware in home and garden stands out as a category where companies were harmed more than most (and brands more than retailers, so far). This sector is badly dislocated around its ability to pass on costs from production to end consumers.
Top Three Drivers of Innovation in Home Paint
Felipe Carreirao
The increase in hybrid work with more time spent at home made consumers value their personal space and perceive a greater need to refresh it by using efficient and value-added methods. This has made the paint sector more attractive, making expansion opportunities particularly more attractive geographically, and across channels, with increases in spending on both branded and private label innovation evident.
The Inspired Home Show
Nick Stene
The Inspired Home Show 2023 will take place at the McCormick Place Exposition Center in downtown Chicago. Take advantage of the numerous Show services that are offered to make your trade show experience as productive as possible.
New Business Models: From Connectivity Boom to Pandemic Dynamism and Inflation Surge
Ian Bell
Only 55 companies have remained on the Fortune 500 list continuously since its inception in 1955. In that year, GM was the biggest company in the world. 70 or so years later, Wal-Mart, a discount store, is the biggest, while GM filed for bankruptcy in 2009. A generation ago, a “Kodak moment” referred to a picture-worthy moment. Today, it is widely used to describe companies that failed to adapt to market disruptions. Clearly, companies need to innovate their products and business models to survive.
2nd Virtual DIY-Summit
Nick Stene
It is the world’s major event where retailers and manufacturers from the home improvement and garden centre industry have the opportunity for an exchange of views of current and future developments within the global market.