talking trade Driving continued recovery


Economic snapshot – Housewares commentary from Will Jones, chief operating officer of BHETA


impact on business structure, strategy and future planning, a significant majority of respondents said that they were actively reconsidering their best routes to market. Add to that some of the retail results and we can see just how crucial making changes has become. To quote the Chair of the John Lewis Partnership, Dame Sharon White: “Shops will always be crucial, but they will be in support of online. “Over the next five years, we expect to


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HETA’s last economic snapshot commentary was at the height of the summer and we were starting to see


some signs of economic recovery. It was a mixture of upturn on a previously dire downturn and a lessening in the rate of decline in key areas. Grounds for positive thinking and positive action. Now with Covid- 19 infections levels on the rise again and the likelihood of more tightening of rules in the hope of containing it, it is vital the industry holds its nerve and continues to take all necessary steps to drive sales in the right direction. Especially as the latest economic statistics continue to indicate that there continue to be many positives to pursue. While GDP in August was still about 12 per cent below February levels, home enhancement overall is a sector which is performing much better than most. August was the fourth consecutive month of growth with retail sales values back up above last year for the first time since February. Volumes were also up with an increase of 4.0 per cent compared with their pre-pandemic levels. It is especially good to see spending in household goods stores up by 9.9 per cent versus February, probably helped by the continuing rise in mortgage approvals and house moves, the former easily surpassing all expectations. When we compare these figures to BHETA’s


own recent membership survey, it is clear that the tableware, cookware and bakeware suppliers who did best were the ones who could sell direct to the end consumer though their own websites, through ‘local’ retailers who stayed open, or quickly re-opened, or through retailers with good e-commerce sites. Moreover, when asked about the lockdown’s


16 | housewareslive.net • HousewaresLive.net • twitter.com/Housewaresnews September 2020


rebalance our shop estate so that we have the right space in the right locations where people want to shop.” Positive change is key. Online home delivery and click-and-collect sales continue to surge ahead whether you look at full-scale e-tailers or more traditional bricks and mortar stores who are changing their business models to include more and more digital. This not to write off bricks and mortar, however. As Sharon White said this is all about the right space in the right locations where consumers now want to shop. One of the other retail winners – apart from online – is the quality small independent fuelled by the ‘Shop Local’ campaign. Consumers do not want to venture far and if local gives a feeling of safety


and security and combines with specialism, service and exciting product and experiential sales, then tills continue to ring. As bira has recently reported, basket size for many independents may be down, but the value of goods purchased in cookshops is up. There is a great opportunity here – Google’s fascinating data on the phenomenal increase in the number of people researching how to bake a cake, tells us that. So, BHETA is busy helping members maximise the possibilities of retailers’ online platforms, the role of the independent and the need to develop digital and ecommerce. Our webinar programme includes a big emphasis on driving sales via upskilling in the digital space, and I urge all housewares members to take part. BHETA has published a packed programme of webinars for September, October and November including networking with the John Lewis Partnership, export opportunities, new categories for expansion and the latest Brexit implications. BHETA is also running a session on commercial strategy with JDS Strategists and five more mini training sessions in its series of webinars presented by Brew and Brookes & Co, helping members up


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