The first TTA member survey of retail tile sales and ‘factory gate’ tile adhesive sales shows a mixed picture. The survey is the first of what will be quarterly surveys going forward, which will compare market performance with the equivalent periods in the previous year.
Respondents to the retail survey were asked two questions:
- For the period 1st April – 30th June 2018, are your total sales (ex VAT) across all product areas (tiles, adhesives, ancillaries etc) up or down compared to the same period in 2017?
Unsurprisingly to those familiar with recent developments on the high street, the overall picture was somewhat down, with sales some 2.56% lower than in the same period in 2017.
- Are you anticipating a figure up or down on the above for the quarter 1st July – 30th September 2018?
When asked to anticipate future trading trends, the mood was cautious, with an average expectation of growth amounting to 0.83%.
In the tile adhesive survey, manufacturers were asked the following questions:
- For the period 1st April – 30th June 2018, are your tile adhesive sales, in the UK only, up or down compared to the same period in 2017?
The overall market appraisal is positive, showing a sales increase of 2.9%, compared with the same period last year.
- Are you anticipating a figure up or down on the above for the quarter 1st July – 30th September 2018?
An optimistic mood also prevailed when manufacturers were asked to look ahead to the coming months – a 4.38% sales increase was envisaged.
“This TTA survey is the first time that key sectors within the tiling market have been comprehensively analysed,” says Paul Luff, TTA chairman. “It is a new initiative from TTA, which is intended to provide more information about the state of the industry. We hope that these ongoing surveys will provide valuable data for all those who want to understand key trends within our market.
“I would like to thank those TTA members who took part in the focus groups which enabled us to put the surveys together, and I can advise that we intend to roll these out to other membership categories going forward.”
More detail on the headline data above is available to TTA members in the Newsletter and on the members’ area of the website. Access to incisive market information is one of the benefits of TTA membership, and this will become a growing resource as new sectors are surveyed in the coming months.
TTA are currently gathering data for the second quarterly survey, covering the period from July to September, and these results will be released in due course.
