FLOORING FORUM READER SURVEY
Flooring flourishing after rollercoaster year This time last year, Christmas was all but cancelled as Covid figures soared and the supply chain was on the verge of collapse. But flooring was flourishing and our readers report a strong performance for 2021 in our annual end-of-year survey – and are optimistic for next year. Almost all our respondents, 81%, said business was up on 2019 with an impressive 35% saying sales were 20% better. Looking across both of the last two years, dominated by the pandemic, three-quarters of retailers said they were up overall and 42% described the uplift as “much better”.
“Almost all our respondents, 81%, said business was up on 2019 with an impressive 35% saying sales were 20% better.” It seems that the inability of middle-class consumers to spend their money on anything else like holidays and hospitality really has helped the interiors industry. But we asked if retailers thought that enhanced demand cycle would continue and 61% said they thought “pent-up demand” was probably coming to an end. But Q4 is still strong although 36% of our respondents weren’t sure if they would get all their orders fitted by Christmas and another 25% know they wouldn’t. 28% cited finding fitters as a major challenge. Asked about price increases for this year, 39% said they had increased prices by more than 15% and 32% by more than 10% but pricing appears to have largely kept pace with supplier increases. Nearly 60% of retailers said they had not increased
“No way was I thinking 2021 would end with us up on sales.”
Suppliers have been raising prices steadily during the year as the supply chain issues started to bite and raw material costs, and more recently energy prices, pushed upwards. 76% of retailers said manufacturers had kept them well informed on price changes but our survey was split on the fairness of those increases, with about 40% feeling they were fair and 42% suggesting that some profiteering had taken place.
“Asked about price increases for this year, 39% said they had increased prices by more than 15% and 32% by more than 10% but pricing appears to have largely kept pace with supplier increases.”
“I feels we’ll still be coping with Covid for some time to come.”
“We’re flying blind really on what will affect business next year.” 40
their margins and therefore not seen an opportunity to capitalise on a buoyant market – even though 57% of retailers agreed that consumers had been less price sensitive in 2021.
“Make the most of it. People will be buying holidays more than flooring next Summer.”
“It’s been a bumpy ride, but better than we dared hope.”
THE STOCKLISTS December 2021