Carpets imports see first growth for 6 months
June 14, 2024
After a tough winter of declining flooring imports, carpet sales into the UK have jumped for the first time since October 2023 – vinyl sales, however, are faring much less well.
Carpet imports into the UK in April jumped 10% to £77.8m according to HM Revenue & Customs figures compiled by The Furnishing Report.
Belgium, which has had a torrid time of falling sales into the UK finally showed substantial improvement, up 17% in April. Turkey, meanwhile, is racing ahead with imports into the UK up 55%.
Imports across all flooring types rose 3.4% to £129 million, held back by a double-digit decline in vinyl floorcovering, a sector badly hit both in terms of supply and pricing by the shipping crisis in the Red Sea which has inflated costs as containers are diverted along much longer routes - see related news item.
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BUSINESS NEWS
The British Furniture Confederation (BFC), the public affairs umbrella body of furniture and beds, furnishings and flooring sector trade associations, has unveiled its new Plan for Growth. The document is said to support BFC’s advocacy across four key pillars: skills and education; trade and exports; standards and regulations; and the environment and circular economy. It has been developed over the past few months, the organisation says, evolving from a combination of position papers written by the associations’ executives and a comprehensive survey of their collective members.
Consumer card spending grew 1.0% year-on-year in February – lower than January’s 1.9% increase and less than the latest CPIH inflation rate of 3.9%, according to recent figures reported by Barclays. In anticipation of higher bills, consumers are said to be cutting back on essential outgoings, but still prioritising discretionary purchases, contributing to an uptick in optimism in the health of personal and household finances.
Kellars, which describes itself as the largest independent flooring wholesaler in the UK, saw another year of “substantial growth” to July 2024, according to its strategic report for the period. With six depots across the UK and a team of more than 100, the company has reportedly grown at a “rapid rate,” with the year leading up to July 2024 seeing a dramatic rise.
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VAT and PAYE records from HM Revenue and Customs, compiled by The Furnishing Report, have revealed the number of flooring retailers with sales over £1m reached a record high in 2024.
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