Euromonitor International is pleased to announce that the 2015 Home and Garden edition is now live and available to access on Passport. The updated research provides latest insights on how the home and garden industry performed during 2014 and identifies key prospects through to 2019.
Key findings from the data:
1. Strong US dollar distorts the global picture
The strength of the US dollar in 2014 had unexpected consequences for the home and garden industry. Many countries, from Canada to Australia and from Brazil to South Africa, delivered positive performances in their local currencies, but failed to show growth when the data were converted into US dollars. Globally, home and garden grew by just 1% in US$ value terms in 2014.
The impact of the forex is expected to continue in 2015 as the US currency is becoming stronger against currencies previously more resilient, such as the euro and the British pound.
2. Growth is back in key markets
After years of uncertainty, key developed countries such as the US, Germany, the UK, Japan, Canada and Australia all showed positive performances in their local currencies in 2014.
The US, the single largest home and garden market in the world, accounting for almost one quarter of total value sales, seems to be on the “recovered” side, posting 3% growth in current terms in 2014. Germany, the third largest market, also showed a positive performance(in both local currency and US$) in 2014 and remained an exception amongst still battered Eurozone countries.
3. China: Single-digit growth becomes the "new normal"
In 2014, China posted its lowest growth since our records began. Although the (just below 10% growth in local currency and 11% in US dollar terms) would be considered extremely positive for a developed market, boasting a population of 1.36 billion means expenditure per household remains very low when compared with Western countries. The slowdown in growth also means China will not overtake the US to become the largest home and garden market in the world in the next five years.
4. Russia: One country, two stories
Russia delivered very healthy 8% growth (local currency, current terms) in 2014. However, an inflation rate of more than 7% meant that real growth was almost completely diluted. The fall of the rubble also took its toll, pushing the country to post double-digit negative growth in US dollar terms. With economic sanctions fully implemented, the continuous decline in oil prices and the rubble in free fall, Euromonitor International expects the Russian market to deliver a poor performance in 2015, with value sales falling by 6% (in constant US dollar 2014 terms), compared to a 5% fall in GDP.
5. Gardening: The smallest and fastest growing category in many countries
Gardening may be the smallest category in most countries, but it is also the one growing the fastest in many markets. From Western Europe, where good weather in 2014 helped to make it the fastest growing category in countries such as Germany, France, Italy and the UK, to China, where it recorded very low sales compared with other categories, gardening is where green shots were found in 2014.