Strong
Heading into the future with confidence
Facts & figures 2024
The kitchen sector saw a year of consolidation in 2023, and falling revenues for the first time in many years. According to the GfK analysis, total sales in the specialist kitchen trade dropped by 19.2%. The current Home Electronics Market Index (HEMIX) also recorded a significant drop for household appliances in the overall 2023 year. In the area of electric household appliances, revenues were 3.5% below the previous year at 17 billion euros. The drop in revenue for large electrical appliances – primarily caused by retail warehousing – was -7.1% for the year overall, at around 9.8 billion euros.
Business development of DER KREIS system association
After three exceptional years in a row with highly positive earnings, the system association saw a drop in revenues in the last fiscal year due to effects beyond its control such as inflation, a weak construction sector and geopolitical crises. Despite challenging market conditions, the company successfully took measures to secure the competitive position of its members and ensure their ongoing financial security. The Leonberg association of kitchen and bathroom specialists, heating and air conditioning specialists, carpenters, joiners, and shop fitting, interior construction and window construction specialists was able to keep overall revenues above the 2021 level with around 4.81 billion euros, corresponding to a drop of around -7.8% compared to the exceptional 2022 year. The number of member companies also increased in 2023 in 19 European countries from 3,621 to 3,794 (plus 173) connected companies.
Demand for custom built-in kitchens remained high in 2023 – the trend is documented by the ongoing increase in average price per kitchen: That cost in 2022 was 15,480 euros, however kitchen specialists received an average of 15,523 euros in 2023, a slight increase of 0.28%. Development in all nine of the DER KREIS national associations was similar: Quality kitchens remained in high demand across Europe.
Thanks to DER KREIS’s international focus, member companies benefit from expertise and experience from many different markets, securing the strength and competitiveness of all our partners for the future. Digitisation measures, both internal and those with external impact, were advanced consistently in 2023. The operating organisation software “KüchenDesk” was made available to members, and the internal InfoNet was launched. The system association succeeded in continuing its international expansion, and initiating a cooperation with the KBBA in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The bathroom and heating industry
Overall, the bathroom and heating industry continued its positive development in 2023: Despite a drop in economic activity and a reduction in new construction, the 48,100 (-800) companies
in the sanitary, heating, and air conditioning trade generated around 4.2 billion euros more compared to the previous year, according to the Zentralverband Sanitär Heizung Klima (ZVSHK – Central Sanitary, Heating, and Air Conditioning Association). Overall industry revenues were estimated at about 61.7 billion euros, a figure which also includes revenues for plumbers, tank and equipment manufacturers, and boiler and air heating trades. The driver of this growth were the over 1.2 million
installed heating appliances, including a growing percentage of heat pumps. Installation services in the bath area, in contrast, dropped. Compared to the previous figure of around 1.2 million, only 1 million bathrooms were renovated or installed in 2023. Increasing construction interest rates and costs due to the Ukraine war, as well as high inflation and a lack of funding incentives for bathroom renovations for the elderly acceler - ated the drop in demand in the bathroom sector. The roughly
10 million bathrooms in Germany considered to be in need of renovation are expected to accelerate business in the bathroom sector once again in the medium term, from which Mein BAD is sure to benefit.
The carpentry secto
As of 31 December 2022, there were around 36,700 companies in the carpentry sector across Germany (previous year: 37,000). Due to the weak overall economic situation, there is low demand stimulus from other economic sectors. Last but not least, significantly elevated interest rates in residential construction in particular have dampened construction activity. Demand for artisanal products stabilised, in the meantime, due to dropping energy costs and a slight uptick in private
consumption. In addition, high order backlogs which built up in previous years have supported the industry. Our companies TopaTeam and Creative Partner have enjoyed positive development in this environment, and have seen increased membership. According to the intercompany comparison of the Carpenter and Joinery Association, the overall economic situation is stable, and orders remain high as in previous years. Companies with less than five employees saw a slight drop in business, after making great strides to recover in previous years. Companies with more than 20 employees grew. Total capital profitability, in contrast, increased greatly in all company size classes at an average of 9.5%.
DER KREIS ANJA SCHAIBLE Foundation
The DER KREIS ANJA SCHAIBLE Foundation, through its joint projects with the kitchen industry, service providers, universities and kitchen specialists, has been making a valuable contribution to the German kitchen industry since 2009, anchoring its slogan: “The kitchen is the heart of life” in our collective awareness. In cooperation with the Technical University Ostwestfalen Lippe (OWL) in Detmold, it awarded the eighth foundation prize in 2021 under the motto “Cooking.Living.Stories” at
the area30 Trade Fair, which is designed to give industry and kitchen specialists inspiration for new types of kitchen solutions. In the current foundation project for 2023/2024, students at the University of Wismar and the Möbelfachschule Köln (Cologne Furnishings Technical College) are called to develop their creative ideas on the topic of “change in kitchen sales – what will kitchen marketing look like in 2030?”. The project is visualised by the University of Darmstadt with virtual reality.