special report


Sustainability Products that tick the eco-friendly box have doubled in their listings and the number of different items quoted. For some years consumers have been unwilling to spend more on a product simply because it is more environmentally sound, and it cannot be a coincidence that the category has grown in our reports, as the average price has dropped from £10 to £7. The width of product has also widened. Beeswax food wraps continue to do well but this year also saw multiple mentions of JWP’s LocknLock ECO storage range and stainless steel straws from assorted suppliers. It will be interesting to see what additional product areas play their part next year.


Chilly’s reusable water bottles


with Denby and Sophie Conran for Portmeirion accompanied by references to Laguna from Maxwell & Williams and Concerto from Forma House, for example. Glassware is still dominated by the gin theme, with gin glasses accounting for over half the listings, and few mentions of either Champagne or Prosecco glassware. This year decorating the table seems higher on customers’ agendas, with more mentions of paper napkins and candles. Cutlery has diminished dramatically with just one reference each of pizza knives, steak knives and a cutlery set.


So, the usual suspects are still important to businesses - but how have the newer product areas from last year fared in 2019?


Hydration Hydration products are still growing. Arguably, hydration-related items are an established core range for any housewares retailer. But this area has grown four-fold in regard to the number of times it was mentioned through the year - and the range of products mentioned has tripled. A clear sign that it is becoming less niche is the drop in the average selling price from £12 to £18 for reusable water bottles. However, that still represents a fair number of wooden spoons!


TOP SUPPLIERS BY SECTOR OF 2019*


BAKEWARE 1 Horwood = KitchenCraft


COOKWARE 1 Horwood 2 Le Creuset


SMALL ELECTRICALS 1 Magimix 2 KitchenAid 3 Sage


KITCHEN KNIVES 1 Robert Welch Designs 2 Grunwerg 3 Taylor’s Eye Witness


GADGETS 1 CKS 2 Dexam = OXO


GLASSWARE 1 Tradestock 2 Dartington Crystal


*Based on frequency of mentions in Housewares Magazine’s regular ‘Best Sellers’ feature


Surprise hits and misses Sometimes such reviews are interesting to see what isn’t mentioned rather than what is. This year’s survey has a few anomalies of its own. Barware is only mentioned once, in the form of BarCraft reusable ice cubes from KitchenCraft. This seems astonishing given the propensity of cocktail recipes in the consumer press and the ongoing popularity of gin glasses. However, it would be hard to break a stainless steel cocktail shaker and accessories… so there is no reason to re-purchase them perhaps? And surprisingly, bright colour also seems to be missing. Silicone gadgets and storage accessories in bold hues are decidedly noticeable by their absence. The last word goes to our one hit wonders: those products that made just a single


JWP LocknLock storageware


appearance this year. Here’s a taster: Wellie Glasses from DPS Tableware; NJ Products’ novelty loo rolls (coming up to Christmas, these fly off the shelves apparently, and the rude ones sell the best!); Boxer Gifts’ Knob Grabbers which are made from silicone and help you grab saucepan knobs with ease; Snuggle touch fleece throws from Deyongs; Stag multi duvet sets by Catherine Lansfield; cheese making kits (especially the vegan kit this year) from The Big Cheese Making Kit and Acctim alarm clocks. The retailer who nominated the latter noted: ‘You would think that alarm clocks were a thing of the past but not for our store. Our older customers have not reverted to using their mobile phones and unlike most stores which have decreased their range, we have had to increase ours to meet demand’. Thank you to everyone who has contributed


throughout the year and we look forward to hearing your best sellers of 2020. If you would like to take part, email editor Clare Turner at cturner@datateam.co.uk.


Tradestock Alternato ladies’ and gentlemen’s gin glasses TOP 10 SUPPLIERS OF 2019*


1 KitchenCraft 2 Horwood 3 Eddingtons = Le Creuset = 5 CKS = Robert Welch Designs = Tradestock = 8 Chilly’s = Emma Bridgewater = JWP


*Based on frequency of mentions in Housewares Magazine’s regular ‘Best Sellers’ feature


• Caroline Rowell is the director of Invicta Retail Consultancy. She has 23 years of buying experience with key high street retailers including Fenwick, House of Fraser and Heal’s. Caroline’s contact details are: Mobile: 07958 712804 Email: carolinerowell32@gmail.co


TOP 10 PRODUCTS OF 2019*


1 Robert Welch Designs Signature knife range 2 Tradestock Alternato ladies’and gentlemen’s gin glasses = Chilly’s reusable water bottles 4 JWP LocknLock storageware = Horwood Stellar 7000 cookware = Eddingtons Bee’s Wrap food wraps 7 CKS EuroScrubby multi-purpose scrubbers 8 Grunwerg Global Santoku 3-piece knife set = Assorted suppliers stainless steel straws = Le Creuset salt & pepper mill sets


* Based on frequency of mentions in Housewares Magazine’s regular ‘Best Sellers’ feature


December 2019


• HousewaresLive.net


• twitter.com/Housewaresnews


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