Quarter three saw an exaggerated return to pre-Covid trends, with a significant dip in demand over the school holidays that was much higher than expected. This could be attributed to a shift in consumer priorities from home improvements to holidays abroad.

Low consumer confidence continues to impact sales particularly in the mid-market, where the ongoing cost of living crisis is affecting disposable income. We are also seeing reductions in the trade sector particularly social housing, where non-essential repair and replacement work is being pushed back.

However, the high end of the bathrooms market carries on as usual, because it’s not price-led. In fact, the feedback we are getting from our customers is that while showroom footfall is down, the people coming through the doors are serious buyers. They are gravitating to trend products like the industrial-style brushed metal or black enclosures, fuelling the ‘keeping up with the Jones’ competition between homeowners. Given an expected 10% fall in house prices in 2023, the ‘improve don’t move’ market could keep the premium end of the market busy for some time. Value is increasingly important, and homeowners are shopping around more. Using a one-stop-shop for a complete bathroom makeover is now making way for customers sourcing products from different places to keep costs down. Savings are more valued than convenience.

Quarter three created challenging economic conditions for bathroom product manufacturers. Rising energy prices are pushing up costs, particularly for raw materials like aluminium and glass which are high energy industries. For manufacturers buying commodities from outside of the UK, there is the double whammy of fluctuating currency rates. We’ve seen the price for certain items go up 10% overnight because of the weakness of the pound.

Unfortunately, there are only so many more price increases consumers can take. Our approach is to absorb as much additional cost as possible and only pass on what we feel we can’t recover through our own efficiencies.

Looking ahead, it’s still a positive market, underpinned by demand for new homes and outside private investment in UK housing. Add in a renewed desire for bathroom renovations from those with money to spend, and the next quarter and year could look much brighter.