INSIGHT | kbbreview 2024
means we’re busy – but new enquiries are definitely down.”
As we prepare to enter a new year, we asked a range of industry leaders and influencers to give their predictions for the KBB market in 2024. Where will the industry go? Where do the opportunities for independents lie? And, most importantly, what should retailers do to make them work for their business?
globe, it’s fair to say that 2023 has been rather unpredictable. Some have even gone so far as des - cribing it as a more uncertain period than the Covid years. Given the rollercoaster ride that
D
2023 has been, as the year draws to a close, we wanted to bring you insight and predictions for how the next 12 months could look for the KBB sector. But before we consider what the year ahead may have in store, it’s worth pinning down exactly how retailers are feeling about how 2023 has played out.
Reflecting on how 2023 has been for business, Dan Stronge, from Jones Britain in East Sussex told kbbreview recently: “Most of the year’s been up and down like a yo-yo,” he said. “I was expecting
September to pick up,
when the kids went back to school but that didn’t happen when I thought it would, so it’s been a mixed picture. We have had a good run of clients in the past four or five months, which
ue largely to political and economic fallout both in the UK and across the
This view was echoed by Graham Robinson from Halcyon Interiors in Wigmore Street: “It’s not easy, but it’s OK. There’s a lot of uncertainty and people are dithering and can’t really make a decision. The people that are coming in are serious, but they’re taking longer to make that final push. “I don’t think the cost of living is affecting
our clients directly, but
because people are talking about it, it is on their minds. Positively, I think that can lead to them thinking ‘if I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it properly’ and they see it as an investment and they still want all the things on their list.” Although Phil Beechinor from Alexander in Worthing agreed that there
had been some uncertain
periods in 2023, he suggested that was perhaps inevitable following the Covid boom. “We had slow footfall during the summer,” he said. “September looked a lot brighter and we’re starting to see a few more orders come in, but it’s definitely not as busy as this time last year. Overall, we’re generally back to where we were two or three years ago, pre-Covid. I think everybody had a boom over the past two years and it’s now just mellowing back to where it was pre-lockdown, so we’re steady.” The last word goes to Luke
Wedgbury from Coalville Kitchens in Leicester, a retailer with his sights firmly set on a positive 2024: “I think money should become a little bit more stable and cheaper as well and I think that New Year feeling is going to be a good one. 2024 is going to be a good year. “I’m looking forward to it. I predict a
good year so I think the sector will be quite big again.”
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• December 2023
2024 INSIGHT
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