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Contact: Deborah A.Teschke
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Population, Economy, Technology Trends Affecting Global Retailing, Says Euromonitor’s Matthew Stych

CHICAGO, IL (March 12, 2006)—Drawing upon various projections for the next five to 10 years, Matthew Stych, manager of the International Retailer Research Program, Euromonitor International, discussed how changes in the global scene will affect consumer lifestyle trends in his presentation, “Defining Success in Global Retailing” today at the 2006 International Home & Housewares Show.

The program also included a presentation by Lena Simonson-Berge of IKEA, the inaugural giaWorld honoree, who discussed the retailer’s success story.

Owned and operated by the International Housewares Association (www.housewares.org), the Show is being held March 12-14 at McCormick Place here, and features 2,100 exhibitors from around the globe, including more than 400 new companies, introducing thousands of new products.
 
Euromonitor International provides quality international market intelligence on industries, countries and consumers. It has offices in London, Chicago, Singapore, Shanghai and Vilnius, and a network of over 600 analysts worldwide.

Stych focused on three trends in lifestyle changes: population, the economy and technology. Regarding population, he said that India is expected to growth 14 percent in the next 10 years, Mexico 13 percent and Brazil 11 percent while the United States and Canada, largely because of immigration, are projected to grow 8 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
“By 2015, half of the world’s population will be urban,” Stych said, adding that 14 percent of the U.S. population in 2005 was born outside the country. The number of additional households expected in the next 10 years includes 56.8 million in China, 32.3 million in India, 9.1 million in the U.S. and 8.4 million in Brazil. “This is good news for the housewares industry,” he said.

                Concerning the economy, Stych reported that rapid growth is expected for key merging markets such as China, India and Russia, where the “richest get richer and the poorest get poorer,” and that there will be a “burgeoning” middle class in both emerging and developed markets.

Turning to technology, Stych said that to reach one in four Americans, it took television 46 years, mobile phones 13 years and the Internet five years. This means that manufacturers have more channels to connect with the consumer.

“Busier lifestyles,” he continued, “will drive the need for convenience,” such as one-stop shopping and on-the-go consumption. There’s a trend, particularly, toward convenience stores in Germany, the U.S. and the U.K. In addition, “value consciousness is set to rise,” with an increasing mix of budget and luxury spending. An example would be consumers who take a cheap flight to another country, where they proceed to “spend a fortune in shops.” 

Other trends, Stych said, will include consumer environmental concerns as reflected in products like low-energy light bulbs and concerns for security. “There will be rapid growth for security devices in the home,” he noted, and “time spent in homes will become more precious” as the home becomes the new entertainment and leisure center.

There will be an increasing trend toward “cocooning” against an uncertain world. Furniture remains the largest category in spending in that area, he said, with the importance of consumables set to dip, and the overall share of housewares will increase to 10.6 percent. The United States, he added, will represent 25 percent of the world’s housewares market by 2015, followed by Japan (17 percent), Germany (9 percent), the United Kingdom (7 percent) and China (also 7 percent). The International Housewares Association is the 68-year-old voice of the housewares industry, which accounted for (US) $265 billion at retail worldwide in 2004. The not-for-profit, full-service association sponsors the world’s premier exposition of products for the home, the International Home & Housewares Show, and offers its 1,700 member companies a wide range of services, including industry and government advocacy, export assistance, State-of-the-Industry reports, point-of-sale and consumer panel data through Housewares MarketWatch, executive management peer groups, a unique community at www.housewares.org and group buying discounts on business services.