Tabletop Market's Growth Slows in 2001

Furniture World Magazine

The tabletop market, comprised of sales of dinnerware, glassware, flatware, crystal stemware and related giftware and decorative accents, reached $7,881 million in 2001, rising 1.3% over sales the previous year. The fastest growing categories in the tabletop market were gifts and decorative accents, up 2.7% to reach $1,355 million in sales and crystal stemware and barware, up 2% to $1,120 million, according to the latest market research study from Unity Marketing, The Tabletop Report, 2002: The Market, The Competitors, The Trends. Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of the new book, Why People Buy Things They Don't Need (Ithaca, NY: Paramount Market Publishing, 2002), says, "Last year was a challenging one for players in the tabletop industry. The weakness of the economy and the aftermath of the 9-11 tragedy which impacted consumers' entertainment plans over the holidays kept consumers out of the stores buying these largely discretionary products. Further, the research Unity has conducted for this latest report along with new consumer research on the luxury market indicates there are clouds on the horizon for retailers and marketers in the tabletop industry, particularly those who depend on the sales of fine or formal tabletop." When consumers today are in the market for tabletop, twice as often they chose to buy casual or everyday tableware rather than the higher-priced formal tableware which is the cornerstone of the industry. "Today's consumers don't view fine tabletop, including china dinnerware, crystal stemware or sterling silver, as relevant to their lifestyle. Brides today are choosing less formal patterns and registering at Crate & Barrel or Pottery Barn rather than department stores. Even among the luxury market, home-owning consumers with incomes of $50,000 and above that purchased luxury products or services in the past year, only 8% purchased luxury tabletop in the past 12 months. In a focus group a luxury consumer expressed an attitude common among these affluent consumers, 'You get married and you pick what you want. Then you put it away and use it once a year. It is nice to have for holidays and special occasions, but it is no big deal anymore,'" Danziger explains. "In tabletop circles, casual has become a cliché and I think we get caught up on that word. Today's tabletop consumers aren't looking for casual, but dinnerware, glassware and display pieces that they can live with. The choice for their table must fit their fast-paced, multitasking lifestyles. They look at fine bone china plates and sterling silver flatware as an anachronism, a leftover remnant of a long lost time. For today's homemaker and hostess, dinnerware must go from freezer, to oven, to table, to dishwasher and still be pretty enough to display on the shelf," Danizger says. "Nobody has time today to hand wash the crystal or polish the silver." A key trend that will impact the tabletop market over the coming ten years is a new bridal market boom. "The leading edge of the millennial generation, roughly defined as the babies of the baby boom generation born after 1976, is reaching 25 this year, which corresponds to the age of one's first marriage. Because the millennial generation totals about 71 million people, just aboutas big as their parent's generation, Unity foresees significant growth in the bridal market starting about 2005. Tabletop marketers need to be researching this new generation of brides so that they offer her products, designs and styles that meet her needs, fit her lifestyle and are readily available in the kind of stores where she wants to shop. They still have time to get ready for the coming new bridal boom," Danziger notes. The Trends details industry sales by product segment, distribution channels and the upstairs, downstairs and bridal markets. The report identifies key trends that will have the greatest impact on sales in the industry in the future, as well as marketing profiles of over 25 of the leading manufacturers of tabletop including Block, Fitz and Floyd, Gibson, Lenox, Libbey, Mikasa, Noritake, Oneida, Pfaltzgraff, Reed and Barton, Royal China and Porcelain, Royal Doulton, and Waterford Wedgwood. It explores trends in distribution of tabletop and how the specialty retailers are faring in this changing market. This over 200-page report is available for $2,250 from Unity Marketing, a marketing research and consulting firm. Pam Danziger also offers marketing consultation to companies based upon her 'why people buy' research strategy. For more information, contact Pam Danziger, Unity Marketing, 717-336-1600 or visit www.unitymarketingonline.com and www.whypeoplebuy.com. email: pam@unitymarketingonline.com