UK Furniture & Floorcoverings Retailers 2007

Verdict Research: This report takes an in depth look at the UK furniture & floorcoverings retail market in 2007. It looks separately at both the furniture and floorcoverings sectors, the key players in the market, and at the key factors impacting their performance.



Report Highlights
2007 is set to be a robust year for the furniture & floorcoverings market despite five interest rate rises over the last 18 months. Consumer confidence remained high – particularly during the first half – with customers continuing to make big ticket purchases. However, the second half of the year has been tougher. After gaining furniture market leadership in 2006 Argos has consolidated its position as the UK’s number one furniture retailer. Additional stores and the continued development of its multi-channel strategy have been the key reasons for its success. The floorcoverings sector has had another disappointing year. Though the performance of the housing market and the five interest rate rises have impacted the market, the most significant brake on the floorcoverings sub sector is the lack of innovation and excitement in both the products themselves, and the retailing of them.
[Fade out the market survey infos]

CHAPTER 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 20
Key Findings 20
Main Conclusions 21
CHAPTER 2 MARKET ANALYSIS 25
Market Definition 25
Furniture & Floorcoverings Expenditure 27
Furniture & Floorcoverings Growth 29
Furniture & Floorcoverings Inflation 31
Furniture & Floorcoverings Breakdown 32
Furniture Specialists 34
Floorcoverings Specialists 36
Key Drivers 37
Housing Market 38
Housing Equity Withdrawal 41
Channels of Distribution 42
CHAPTER 3 COMPANY DATA ANALYSIS 43
Furniture Market Shares 43
Floorcoverings Market Shares 46
Key Operating Statistics 48
Advertising 49
CHAPTER 4 OUTLOOK 53
Economic outlook 53
Margin Pressure 56
Differentiation From Competition Remains Key 58
A More Focused Approach? 58
Moving Away From a Discounting Emphasis 59
New Home Formats Increase Pressure on Specialists 61
Furniture Retailers Improve Green Credentials 63
Market Collaboration Drives Growth in Floorcoverings 65
Buoyant Beds Sector 67
Challenge To Build Customer Loyalty and Relationships 69
Online Opportunities 71
CHAPTER 5 ALLIED CARPETS 72
Company Overview 72
Market Share 74
Trading Record 75
Store Portfolio 76
Retail Proposition 78
Outlook 79
CHAPTER 6 B&Q 81
Company Overview 81
Market Shares 83
Trading Record 84
Store Portfolio 86
Retail Proposition 88
Outlook 89
CHAPTER 7 CARPETRIGHT 91
Company Overview 91
Market Share 93
Trading Record 94
Recent Trading 95
Store Portfolio 96
CHAPTER 8 DFS 100
Company Overview 100
Market Share 102
Trading Record 103
Store Portfolio 105
Retail Proposition 107
Outlook 108
CHAPTER 9 DREAMS 110
Company Overview 110
Market Share 112
Trading Record 113
Store Portfolio 114
Retail Proposition 115
Outlook 116
CHAPTER 10 FURNITURE VILLAGE 117
Company Overview 117
Market Share 119
Trading Record 120
Store Portfolio 121
Retail Proposition 123
Outlook 125
CHAPTER 11 HOME RETAIL GROUP 127
Company Overview 127
Market Shares 129
Trading Records 132
Argos Recent Trading 135
Homebase Recent Trading 137
Store Portfolios 138
Retail Propositions 141
Outlooks 144
Argos 144
Homebase 146
CHAPTER 12 HOMEFORM GROUP 148
Company Overview 148
Market Share 150
Trading Record 151
Store Portfolio 153
Retail Proposition 154
Outlook 155
CHAPTER 13 HOMESTYLE GROUP 157
Company Overview 157
Market Shares 159
Trading Record 161
Store Portfolio 164
Retail Proposition 166
Outlook 168
CHAPTER 14 IKEA 170
Company Overview 170
Market Shares 171
Trading Record 172
Store Portfolio 174
Retail Proposition 178
Outlook 180
CHAPTER 15 JOHN LEWIS 182
Company Overview 182
Market Shares 184
Trading Record 185
Six Months to July 2007 186
Current Trading 186
Store Portfolio 188
Retail Proposition 191
Outlook 193
CHAPTER 16 LAND OF LEATHER 194
Company Overview 194
Market Share 196
Trading Record 197
Store Profile 199
Retail Proposition 202
Outlook 203
CHAPTER 17 MAGNET 205
Company Overview 205
Market Share 207
Trading Record 208
Store Portfolio 210
Retail Proposition 212
Outlook 213
CHAPTER 18 MFI 214
Company Overview 214
Market Share 216
Trading Record 218
Store Portfolio 220
Retail Proposition 222
Outlook 223
CHAPTER 19 NEXT 225
Company Overview 225
Market Share 227
Trading Record 228
Six Months to July 2007 229
Store Portfolio 230
Six Months to July 2007 231
Retail Proposition 232
Outlook 234
CHAPTER 20 SCS 236
Company Overview 236
Market Share 238
Trading Record 239
Current Trading 240
Store Portfolio 241
Retail Proposition 243
Outlook 245
CHAPTER 21 SMALLER FURNITURE & FLOORCOVERINGS RETAILERS 247
Overview 247
Market Shares 247
Trading Records 248
Trading Records 248
Store Profiles 248
Floors-2-Go 249
Focus 252
Habitat 255
ILVA 257
M&S 260
Reid Furniture 263
Topps Tiles 265
Wickes 267
CHAPTER 22 GLOSSARY 270
Financial Statistics – VAT 270
Trading Profile 270
Physical Development 270
Abbreviations 271
[Fade out table of contents]

Table 1: Furniture & floorcoverings market definition 2007 25
Table 2: Consumer expenditure on furniture & floorcoverings 1997-2007e 27
Table 3: Furniture specialists sales and space 1997-2007e 34
Table 4: Floorcoverings specialists sales and space 1997-2007e 36
Table 5: Furniture & floorcoverings channels of distribution 2002 & 2007e 42
Table 6: Leading furniture retailers market shares 2001-2007e 43
Table 7: Leading floorcoverings retailers market shares 2001-2007e 46
Table 8: Leading furniture & floorcoverings retailers key operating statistics – Sales 2006/07 48
Table 9: Leading furniture & floorcoverings retailers key operating statistics – Stores 2006/07 49
Table 10: Furniture & floorcoverings specialists advertising media expenditure 2001-2006 50
Table 11: Leading furniture & floorcoverings retailers advertising spend by medium 2006 51
Table 12: Allied Carpets company overview 2007 72
Table 13: Allied Carpets key operating statistics 2002-2007e 73
Table 14: Allied Carpets trading record 1997-2007e 75
Table 15: Allied Carpets store portfolio 1997-2007 76
Table 16: Allied Carpets space allocation 2007 77
Table 17: Allied Carpets retail proposition 2007 78
Table 18: B&Q company overview 2007 81
Table 19: B&Q key operating statistics 2002-2007 82
Table 20: B&Q trading record 1997-2007 84
Table 21: B&Q store portfolio 1997-2007 86
Table 22: B&Q retail proposition 2007 88
Table 23: Carpetright company overview 2007 91
Table 24: Carpetright key operating statistics 2002-2007 92
Table 25: Carpetright UK & Ireland trading record 1997-2007 94
Table 26: Carpetright UK & Ireland store portfolio 1997-2007 96
Table 27: Carpetright store profile – April 2006 to April 2007 98
Table 28: DFS company overview 2007 100
Table 29: DFS key operating statistics 2002-2007e 101
Table 30: DFS trading record 1997-2007e 103
Table 31: DFS store portfolio 1997-2007e 105
Table 32: DFS retail proposition 2007 107
Table 33: DFS space allocation 2007 108
Table 34: Dreams company overview 2007 110
Table 35: Dreams key operating statistics 2003-2007 111
Table 36: Dreams trading record 2001-2007e 113
Table 37: Dreams store portfolio 2001-2007e 114
Table 38: Dreams retail proposition 2007 115
Table 39: Furniture Village company overview 2007 117
Table 40: Furniture Village key operating statistics 2002-2007 118
Table 41: Furniture Village trading record 1997-2007 120
Table 42: Furniture Village store portfolio 1997-2007 121
Table 43: Furniture Village retail proposition 2007 123
Table 44: Furniture Village space allocation 2007 125
Table 45: Home Retail Group overview 2007 127
Table 46: Argos key operating statistics 2002-2007 128
Table 47: Homebase key operating statistics 2002-2007 129
Table 48: Home Retail Group trading record 2001-2007 132
Table 49: Argos trading record 1997-2007 134
Table 50: Homebase trading record 1997-2007 136
Table 51: Argos store portfolio 1997-2007 138
Table 52: Homebase store portfolio 1997-2007 140
Table 53: Argos catalogue space allocation Autumn/Winter 2006 and 2007 141
Table 54: Argos retail proposition 2007 141
Table 55: Homebase retail proposition 2007 143
Table 56: HomeForm company overview 2007 148
Table 57: HomeForm key operating statistics 2003-2006e 149
Table 58: HomeForm trading record 1996-2006e 151
Table 59: HomeForm Group divisional trading record 1996-2006e 152
Table 60: HomeForm estimated store portfolio 1996-2006 153
Table 61: HomeForm retail proposition 2007 154
Table 62: Homestyle company overview 2007 157
Table 63: Homestyle key operating statistics 2002-2007 158
Table 64: Homestyle trading record 2002-2007e 161
Table 65: Divisional trading record 2002-2007e 161
Table 66: Homestyle furniture division store numbers 2003-2007 164
Table 67: Homestyle beds division store numbers 2003-2007e 164
Table 68: Homestyle store analysis June 2007 165
Table 69: Homestyle retail proposition 2007 166
Table 70: Harveys space allocation 2007 168
Table 71: IKEA company overview 2007 170
Table 72: IKEA key operating statistics 2002-2007e 171
Table 73: IKEA UK turnover record 1997-2007e 172
Table 74: IKEA store portfolio 1997-2007e 174
Table 75: IKEA store locations and year of opening 1987-2007 174
Table 76: IKEA space allocation 2007 177
Table 77: IKEA retail proposition 2007 178
Table 78: John Lewis company overview 2007 182
Table 79: John Lewis key operating statistics 2002-2007 183
Table 80: John Lewis Stores trading record 1997-2007 185
l
Table 81: John Lewis store portfolio 1997-2007 188
Table 82: John Lewis opening plans 2008-2013 190
Table 83: John Lewis relocation plans 2007-2011 190
Table 84: John Lewis retail proposition 2007 191
Table 85: John Lewis furniture & floorcoverings space allocation 2007 192
Table 86: Land of Leather company overview 2006 194
Table 87: Land of Leather key operating statistics 2002-2007 195
Table 88: Land of Leather trading record 2000-2007 197
Table 89: Land of Leather store profile 2002-2007 199
Table 90: Land of Leather concessions, July 2007 201
Table 91: Land of Leather space allocation 2007 201
Table 92: Land of Leather retail proposition 2006 202
Table 93: Magnet company overview 2007 205
Table 94: Magnet key operating statistics 2002-2007e 206
Table 95: Magnet trading record 1997-2007e 208
Table 96: Magnet store portfolio 1997-2007e 210
Table 97: Magnet space allocation 2007 211
Table 98: Magnet retail proposition 2007 212
Table 99: MFI company overview 2007 214
Table 100: MFI key operating statistics 2003-2007e 215
Table 101: MFI UK Retail trading record 1997-2007e 218
Table 102: MFI UK retail store portfolio 1997-2007e 220
Table 103: MFI space allocation 2006 221
Table 104: MFI retail proposition 2007 222
Table 105: Next company overview 2007 225
Table 106: Next key operating statistics 2002-2007 226
Table 107: Next Group trading record 1997-2007 228
Table 108: Next Brand* sales breakdown 2003-2007 228
Table 109: Next UK store profile 1997-2007e 230
Table 110: Next space allocation 2007 231
Table 111: Next retail proposition 2007 232
Table 112: ScS company overview 2007 236
Table 113: ScS key operating statistics 2002-2007 237
Table 114: ScS trading record 1997-2007 239
Table 115: ScS store portfolio 1997-2007 241
Table 116: ScS retail proposition 2007 243
Table 117: ScS space allocation 2007 244
Table 118: Smaller furniture & floorcoverings retailers furniture and floorcoverings market shares 2007e 247
Table 119: Smaller furniture & floorcoverings retailers sales and operating margins 2006/07e 248
Table 120: Smaller furniture & floorcoverings retailers store portfolios 2006/07e 248
Table 121: Floors-2-Go company overview 2007 249
Table 122: Focus company overview 2007 252
Table 123: Habitat company overview 2007 255
Table 124: ILVA company overview 2007 257
Table 125: M&S company overview 2007 260
Table 126: Reid Furniture company overview 2007 263
Table 127: Topps Tiles company overview 2007 265
Table 128: Wickes company overview 2007 267


Figure 1: Furniture & floorcoverings and total retail growth 1997-2007e 29
Figure 2: Furniture & floorcoverings retail growth by subsector 1997-2007e 30
Figure 3: Furniture, floorcoverings and total retail implied inflation/deflation 1997-2007e 31
Figure 4: Furniture by product category 2007 32
Figure 5: Floorcoverings by product category 2007 33
Figure 6: Impact of housing market on furniture & floorcoverings 2007 38
Figure 7: House price inflation (England & Wales) 1996-2007e 39
Figure 8: Housing transactions (England & Wales) 1996-2007e 40
Figure 9: Housing equity withdrawal 1996-2007e 41
Figure 10: Furniture retailers market share gains and losses 2007 on 2006 45
Figure 11: Floorcoverings retailers market share gains and losses 2007 on 2006 47
Figure 12: Economic outlook 2007-08 53
Figure 13: Key cost pressures affecting furniture & floorcoverings retailers 2008 56
Figure 14: Strategies to reduce focus on discounting 2008 59
Figure 15: The introduction of Home formats by non specialists 2008 61
Figure 16: Strategies to improve retailers green credentials 2008 63
Figure 17: Retailers and manufacturers to drive floorcoverings growth 2008 65
Figure 18: Bed growth drivers 2008 67
Figure 19: Strategies to build customer loyalty and relationships 2008 69
Figure 20: Allied Carpets floorcoverings market share 2001-2007e 74
Figure 21: B&Q market share performance 2001-2007e 83
Figure 22: Carpetright floorcoverings market share 2001-2007e 93
Figure 23: DFS furniture market share 2001-2007e 102
Figure 24: Dreams furniture market share 2003-2007e 112
Figure 25: Furniture Village market share performance 2001-2007e 119
Figure 26: Argos furniture market share performance 2001-2007e 129
Figure 27: Homebase furniture & floorcoverings market share performance 2001-2007e 130
Figure 28: Home Retail Group sales breakdown 2006/07 133
Figure 29: HomeForm furniture market share 2001-2007e 150
Figure 30: Homestyle furniture market shares 2001-2007e 159
Figure 31: IKEA market share performance 2001-2007e 171
Figure 32: John Lewis market share performance 2001-2007e 184
Figure 33: Land of Leather market share performance 2001-2007e 196
Figure 34: Magnet furniture market share 2001-2007e 207
Figure 35: MFI furniture market share 2001-2007e 216
Figure 36: Next furniture market share 2001-2007e 227
Figure 37: ScS furniture market share 2001-2007e 238
[Fade out list of tables / figures]