Comment | 3
COMMENT
In a more challenging market situation, it is always heartening to hear of companies who are breaking the mold, even if it is on the fringe of the mainstream timber product industries. In this issue of TTJ we have
both news stories, market reports and Sector Focus reports which clearly show in both figures and commentary the overall lower
demand situation facing the wood product industries. The Builders Merchants Building Index (BMBI) shows
that total merchant value sales in Q4 2023 were -5.7% down compared to Q4 2022, with volumes falling -12% and prices rising +7.1%. The three largest categories all sold less: landscaping (-6.7%), heavy building materials (-7.3%) and timber and joinery products (-10.3%). In the kitchen sector, a massive user of wood products,
market research firm JKMR predicts a “substantial fall in the number of kitchen installations during 2023, with a currently projected decline of 10.25% on 2022 levels, putting installations back below 1.15 million, just above 2015 levels”. But clearly people who have money and who are
generally looking at the luxury end of things – whether it be kitchens, decking or whatever – are less impacted and still spending money. One of the featured companies in our Kitchens Sector
Focus is Naked Kitchens, which says it is “having a storming time” and going against the grain in the kitchen market. In the last three years Naked has invested £3m in new
technology and has boosted the workforce by 30% in the past year.
GROUP EDITOR
www.ttjonline.com
► MARKET UPDATE – IRELAND TTJ catches up with Ireland’s sawmills
► MARKET UPDATE – PLYWOOD & OSB We look at how the plywood and OSB sectors are faring so far this year
► MARKET UPDATE – FENCING & PALLETS We find out if spring has kickstarted fencing demand
► SECTOR FOCUS – PRESERVATIVES & FIRE RETARDANTS TTJ looks at what is new for the sector
► SECTOR FOCUS – JOINERY Is RMI still providing a boost for the joinery sector, or has demand waned?
► SECTOR FOCUS – PANEL PRODUCTS We look at latest developments in the panel products sector
► SECTOR FOCUS – NORTH AMERICA TTJ finds out the latest from the North American timber sector
► PLUS REGULARS
Latest UK and world news; technical news; comment from industry figures; and latest appointments.
www.ttjonline.com | March/April 2024 | TTJ
TTJ – the voice of the timber Industry Founder Jamie Everett cites Kung Fu Panda as a
business influence and used a real vintage fighter jet within a kitchen in the company’s advertising. Clearly, his is a non-standard approach but it is yielding dividends. Mr Everett believes success in the market today is about
reinforcing a confidence in buyers that they have made the right decision in installing a Naked Kitchen, that it’s something special. He says promoting a bog-standard list of product
features is not enough. Giving buyers something on a more charismatic level is needed. Any company without a well-defined position in their segment is “facing a lot of stress”, he adds. Likewise, WPC decking supplier Composite Prime
bucked the trend in 2023 by reporting substantial growth and recovering the decline seen in 2022. Eschewing a low-value mentality, it has focused on
product development and branding, targeting buyers who have money to spend. Marketing your product for the individual with money
to spend is important, it says, with the product and brand being more important than the price point. “It’s not all doom and gloom, we are selling a luxury product,” it said.
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