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housewares In January, What More invested in state-of-


the-art bakeware machines just in time to support the country throughout lockdown. The firm says they have plenty of capacity left to satisfy the UK’s retailers and their many distribution partners overseas. Since its beginnings in 1999 What More UK has become one of the country’s most respected and reputable manufacturing firms. From its facility in Lancashire, the company flies the flag for Made of Britain around the country and overseas. What More UK exports its British brand to 73 countries around the world. They also operate a thriving apprenticeship scheme, a school engagement programme, sponsorship of local sports clubs, and many charitable activities in the community which go unreported. What More UK has reported high demand for all of its products which includes housewares of all varieties, bakeware, and gardenware – a great deal of which are made from recycled single use plastics.


The company also commenced the


production of Medical Face Visor individual parts in support of the Emergency Services who are in great demand for such crucial safety protection ware. This venture was born in collaboration with one of our specialist tool makers: Canteen Smithy Engineering Limited, a UK Manufacturer also, who within a record timeframe of four days designed, engineered and produced the tool mould ready for final production. The strength and expertise of UK Manufacturing at its finest and a response turnaround time that when the whole world is on lockdown highlights the benefits of our own countries production capabilities. They are working with a current capacity of 8,500 visors per day and working to exceed


60,000 per week. They have put all its own resources and expertise within manufacturing to ensure the highest quality and product performance to guarantee safety first and foremost.


The British Home Enhancement Trade Association’s marketing manager, Steve Richardson, predicts a brighter future for the housewares industry, particularly due to the growth of gardening and home DIY projects. According to The British Home Enhancement


Trade Association (BHETA)’s latest weekly Covid-19 financial update for members, the forecast for growth in DIY and garden expenditure for 2020 overall has again fallen back despite the impact of gradual store re- openings. Longer term the reawakening in consumer interest in home improvement and garden gives grounds for hope in a brighter future for the sector however, but how and where purchases take place may well have shifted form the pre-Covid norm. The predicted figure for percentage growth at the end of May is now minus 14.1 per cent - from £11.4bn to £9.8bn compared to 2019. This is a slight deepening of the forecast downturn, although the sector remains protected from the worst of the negative impact compared to other areas of retail. The latest figures also show the percentage increase in online sales in DIY and garden rising again following a slight drop as bricks and mortar stores started to reopen. The figures begin to suggest that some consumers’ preferences for where and how they shop may have changed permanently. During the lockdown so far, 59.8 per cent of consumers have been inspired to refresh their homes, largely due to the extra time available. The top four rooms consumers have


redecorated have been the living room, kitchen, master bedroom and bathroom, but the biggest area of consumer purchase has been in garden products. A third of consumers say they are looking forward to doing even more home and garden shopping after lockdown. Online shopping is again rising among both shoppers – 15.1 per cent more online spend on gardening; 13.3 per cent more online spend on DIY. DIY retailers experienced inflated demand online, with B&Q and Wickes implementing virtual queuing systems at first to cope with this. We did see a slight bounce in the figures as B&Q and Homebase reopened, but I think we are now seeing the beginnings of the ‘new normal’. As with every non-food sector of retail, the pandemic has affected the industry adversely overall, but longer term there are positives and it is vital that the industry responds to them. Anecdotally, some of members have seen sales remain very strong over the last couple of months, and much has depended on the individual supplier’s ability to respond in terms of manufacture, logistics and routes to market. We have certainly seen a rediscovery of DIY and gardening which goes beyond the core consumer profile; and we have seen a shift towards online. Thanks to GlobalData’s support in supplying the information, we believe these trends will outlast lockdown restrictions. At BHETA’s webinar with the CBI, the point was made that even with bricks and mortar outlets reopening, not all consumers will immediately feel confident in traditional outlets – and that this will undoubtedly continue a positive trend for online – and for those smaller independents able to embrace social distancing successfully.


It’s for this reason that BHETA is


focusing heavily on online selling – whether directly or via existing retail and marketplace platforms – in its current series of webinars.


Toys and games have experienced double digit growth says Mike Smith, Head of Field Sales EFG Housewares


March/April 2020


HousewaresLive.net


twitter.com/Housewaresnews


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