Press Release Summary = The total UK retail market for kitchenware was valued at £732.5m in 2003. This value remained virtually unchanged from the previous year, rising by just 1.2% on 2002.
Press Release Body = Kitchenware Market Report
The total UK retail market for kitchenware was valued at £732.5m in 2003. This value remained virtually unchanged from the previous year, rising by just 1.2% on 2002.
Growth was limited by a high level of discounting, particularly in the case of grocery multiples, and by an increase in the volume and quality of reasonably-priced imports. The UK's favourable trade balance has shrunk in recent years as the volume of imports has increased while exports have decreased. The manufacture of ceramics, a traditional UK industry, is struggling to survive competition from the Far East and Eastern Europe. The entry of eight Eastern European countries with low production costs to the allied free-trade zone of the EU in May 2004 can only put more pressure on an already competitive market for ceramics, glassware and other kitchenware.
For the purposes of this report, the UK market for kitchenware is simplistically divided into the four sectors of cookware, ovenware, utensils, and cleaning and storage, although there is considerable overlap between the cookware and ovenware sectors. The most valuable sector in 2003 was cookware, sales of which accounted for 41.6% of the total kitchenware market.
2022
