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Germany's kitchen manufacturers are bursting with self-confidence - despite or perhaps because of the pandemic.

“As a competitor, the car is practically non-existent”, enthuses Volker Irle, the managing director of the working group Die Moderne Küche (AMK).

Indeed, the priorities of German citizens have recently shifted significantly.

This is shown by a current survey by the Foundation for Future Issues.

According to this, 16 percent of the participants would like to spend additional money on a new car, which is known to be an important status symbol in this country.

At the same time, however, at 36 percent, more than twice as many respondents are concerned with eating and drinking, and with it the importance of cooking.

And even 42 percent are planning investments in apartments, houses and gardens.

Only vacation trips are still higher in terms of consumer preferences - but they can hardly be implemented.

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So the money flows into your own four walls.

"The upgrading of the home has gained even more appreciation during the pandemic," comments Irle.

And the kitchen is by far the most important anchor point.

In fact, this segment did not stop at making wishes and planning.

While the entire furniture industry closed the Corona year 2020 with a sales loss of almost four percent to 17.2 billion euros, the kitchen manufacturers are comparatively significantly in the black.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, the industry was able to grow by 4.5 percent to 5.3 billion euros.

And electrical appliances are not even included in that number.

In contrast to the already good previous years, domestic business was the main growth driver this time, not export as is usual.

The increased willingness of Germans to spend picked up, especially in the second half of the year.

Trend towards matt colors

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Depending on the month, the incoming orders from companies such as Nobilia and Schüller, Häcker and Leicht or Rotpunkt and Siematic were even around a third above the respective previous year's figure, probably also benefited by the temporarily reduced VAT.

“In the past, people planned from one vacation to the next, today a comfortable home is the focus,” says AMK board spokesman Roland Hagenbucher.

Source: WORLD infographic

The kitchen is the focal point of the apartment, and in many places it is currently used as a home office.

It should be open and generous, if possible with a counter.

When it comes to materials, naturalness is required instead of the high-gloss surfaces that have long been the norm on fronts, cupboards and worktops.

Now only the electrical appliances are allowed to shine, although more and more matt versions are being bought there too, according to the AMK.

At the same time, the colors are darker than before, for example with blacks, anthracite and gray.

"That looks particularly elegant and leaves plenty of scope for accents - for example furniture and accessories made of wood or in light tones," report the industry association's trend experts.

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Otherwise, the topic remains handleless in trend, says Markus Sander, the managing director of premium manufacturer Häcker kitchens.

It shouldn't even be recessed grips.

Instead, the so-called tip-on or push-to-open technology, with which cabinets and drawers can be opened by lightly pressing, is gaining ground.

When closing, on the other hand, according to Sander, the cushioning cannot be missing.

And the topic of storage space is particularly important today.

"This shows the effects of increased storage during the corona lockdowns," reports Sander and names room-high storage cupboards with several pull-outs and shelves as an industry trend.

"Even the plinth drawer from the past is currently experiencing a comeback."

Especially since more and more small electrical appliances have to find space in addition to food, pots and dishes.

In any case, the market researchers at GfK have reported a leap in sales of kitchen machines and bread makers, toasters and deep fryers, sandwich makers and juicers, for example.

The increases are definitely in the order of magnitude of 25 to 50 percent.

But the pandemic also upgraded large appliances: the most important trend was large-volume and design-oriented refrigerators and freezers.

"Devices with significantly more features and thus additional benefits for the consumer are particularly in demand," reports BSH manager Hagenbucher and mentions, for example, refrigerators with a fresh-keeping zone or steamers or ovens with a steam function.

"But networked home appliances also have their market, such as fridges with cameras, where you can see how much milk and cream still needs to be bought while you're on the move."

Source: WORLD infographic

All of this has its price and, at least in relation to the large appliances, has an impact on the total costs of a kitchen, which AMK managing director Irle describes as "the most thoroughly planned individual room in the apartment".

In any case, the retail sector is reporting increasing order values, in 2020 by almost five percent.

But GfK also confirms a trend towards higher quality kitchens.

"We see the greatest growth in the market segments between 10,000 and 20,000 euros and in kitchens above 25,000 euros," says GfK researcher Markus Wagenhäuser, citing growth rates in the double-digit percentage range.

According to GfK, the average price of a kitchen is now € 9,678, which is just below the € 10,000 mark.

Furniture industry suffers

For comparison: A year earlier it was 9253 euros, which is 425 euros less.

And five years ago this comparative value was almost 3000 euros lower at around 6900 euros.

"There is a demand for more and more high-quality equipment in the kitchen with regard to the materials, the functionalities and the electrical appliances," reported Häcker boss Sander, who is also a member of the AMK board.

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It is quite possible that the 10,000 mark will be broken in 2021.

So far, in any case, the boom for the industry has continued: According to AMK, kitchen furniture sales were again around five percent above the previous year's period in January and February - and that was not yet influenced by Corona at the time.

The kitchen industry is thus further decoupling from the situation of the rest of the furniture industry, which is more than ten percent in the red in the same period.

According to the AMK, this is also due to the continued good economic activity in the construction sector.

More apartments are to be completed in 2021 than in the previous year.

And according to statistics, there were already twice as many as in 2010. However, each of these residential units causes a chain reaction, BSH representative Hagenbucher speaks of four to five relocations triggered.

And a change of residence is often associated with buying a new kitchen.

Now only the supply chains have to continue playing in the coming months.

Chipboard is currently becoming scarce and expensive, but so are fittings and hinges.

As a result, the first manufacturers had to raise prices, and delivery times were also noticeably longer.

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