Three years of turnover losses in home furnishing stores

Turnover of home furnishing stores in the first quarter of 2012 was down 5 percent on the first quarter of 2011. This is entirely due to fewer sales. Turnover in the home supplies branch has been down since the start of the crisis at the end of 2008. Kitchen retailers in particular are seeing drastic losses in turnover.

Turnover losses since the end of 2008

Turnover of home furnishing stores has fallen since the last quarter of 2008. The third quarter of 2009 saw a record low with a turnover dip of nearly 11 percent. After that, turnover diminished less until the end of 2010. In the first three quarters of 2011 the loss of turnover was limited to 1 percent, but since then it has been slowing down more and more.

Turnover in home furnishing stores

Kitchen retailers face major turnover losses

Kitchen retailers have faced major turnover losses in the last 3.5 years. In 2009 and 2010 turnover loss was always 8 percent or more each quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2009 it actually even reached 17 percent. In the first half of 2011 kitchen stores seemed to recover slightly, but in the first quarter of 2012 their turnover was again 14 percent lower than one year before.

Less demand for home furnishing products

Demand for the product sold by home furnishing stores depends on people moving and new dwellings completed. In 2011 over 20 percent fewer people moved house than in 2008, and over a quarter fewer new dwellings were completed. This was reflected in the sales:  although prices were slightly higher in the first quarter of 2012 it was not enough to compensate the loss in volume.

Volume and price changes in home furnishing stores

Feron Sarucco