ECONOMICS AND LIFE

HKTDC Hong Kong Houseware Fair 2010
Fair Details
Fair Dates : 20-23 April 2010 (Tuesday-Friday)

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The Market of Home Decoration, Houshold and Furnishing Textiles in Denmark
With a high GDP per capita as well as a highly prioritized welfare system, the Danish standard of living is among the highest in the world. Income is evenly distributed among the population and, normally, both men and women work full time.
Denmark is a member of the EU
Small and medium sized companies characterize the Danish industry. Compared to other industrialized countries, even the largest Danish companies are – with few exceptions only medium sized. A large range of products is imported to Denmark.
Danes spend the majority of their time in-door and, generally, much attention is given to furnishing the home. No exact numbers for spending on home textiles exist for the Danish market, but more than six percent of household income is spent on furnishing and domestic services.

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UK is the second biggest importer of home decoration and gifts in the EU (after Germany). For the year 2006, the percentage of imports into the UK coming from the developing countries was slightly more than 46%.
Generally, it can be said that the British consumers are very proud of their homes and are eager to undertake constant renovation, restyling and decoration. The growing awareness of fashion and household design will serve the industry well. Even if the last few years were somewhat disappointing, there is great scope for growth due to replacement sales. More importantly, increasingly fashion-led consumers at the higher end of the market are searching for decorative and gift articles that have a higher content of fashion than mere practicality.
The British also have a profound gardening culture. The garden decoration market is
forecast to grow because of the shift towards decorative rather than purely practical
designs.
The British market is clearly divided between people from the South East (basically the
London area) who have a higher income and prefer more fashionable products and people
from the North, who are very price conscious. The forecasts indicate only a slow rise in
population and in consumption over the next few years.

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