Products Insights Data Partnership Careers About GfK Press Contact Login EN Home / Insights / Insight Detail Leuven, 02.06.2021 The Kitchen Industry’s Heartbeat The biggest Belgian construction fair will open its doors again from the 19th to the 27th of February 2022. Unfortunately, Batibouw 2020 was the last major physical event in the Benelux right before the pandemic started raging. Attendance was dwindling each day as the severity of Covid-19 became increasingly harder to ignore. To Batibouw Or Not To Batibouw. A question that occupies the industry almost since the debut of the event itself. Some exhibitors argue that Batibouw, as a sales event, is hollowed out. The once-exclusive fair conditions are offered year-round these days. But can you really resist the spotlights of Batibouw? Not seldom did exhibitors had to reappear after a few years of absence. Our guess is that presence on Batibouw will remain a catch-22 situation in the years ahead. Let’s gauge the impact of Batibouw on the sales of the 9 most important product groups within major domestic appliances in Belgium (MDA 9). Below you can find a graph on the seasonality of sales in the kitchen retail trade (KRT). A complete corona year (April 2020 to March 2021) was plotted together with the historical data of the foregoing 192 months (April 2004 up to March 2020). In general, we can’t observe a strong seasonal effect. Historically, sales peak in January, March, and October. In January, kitchen specialists surf the Solden wave. Based on this, we can expect another peak in July, coinciding with the second national Solden period. However, this is not the case since a majority of the retailers comply with the annual building industry holiday. March and October both look evenly strong in sales. Since the corona-affected month of March ’21 is contained in the historical data, we can easily assume the month of March is the single largest month in revenue. This means on average a +10% increase. This can only be attributed to Batibouw. The timing of the event traditionally is during the end of February. Consumers get inspired, compare, decide, and order a kitchen during the month following the event while enjoying the best discounts. The level of sales in October is harder to explain. It coincides with the shift from outside to inside that families typically go through when the end-of-year seasons nears. This comes with increased attention for interiors. The purple curve on the graph shows how disruptive Corona was for the kitchen sector. It was plagued by two periods of closings since the sector was defined as non-essential. The effect is clear for April, May, and November. To end with a positive note: the sector saw a streak of 5 monthly sales records from October 2020 to March 2021, ignoring the November closings. Article written by Karel Tyberghein If you want to know more facts and figures about the kitchen retail market, do not hesitate to contact Karel.Tyberghein@gfk.com. SHARE THIS PAGE Related Products gfknewron AI-powered intelligence connects all sales and consumer data into a smart solution that enables you to react, plan, predict, pivot, and win. Read more gfknewron Predict AI-powered market, brand and consumer intelligence and recommendations that put you in front of the rest. Read more gfknewron Market Point of sales data supercharged in a digital platform with visualization, always-on insights, alerts, and search to know what sold, where, and when. Read more Insights 05.08.2021 Articles Double-digit growth for TV in the first 6 months of 2021 Much to the regret of English football enthusiasts, the European Cup decided not to go home, but has opted for a trip to the southern region of ... Read more 08.07.2021 Articles Pandemic shopping leads to unforeseen changes in the retailer ... Can we foresee some of these changes? How will the market evolve in the upcoming months? What strategic decisions do we need to make to cut costs and ... Read more View all Insights CONTACT US About GfK About GfK Supplier Press Contact GfK in your country Quick Links Product portfolio Insights Careers Blog Data partnership Legal Privacy notice Data protection Legal Sitemap Cookies Settings CLIENT PORTALS Subscribe to GfK Insights SUBSCRIBE NOW Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Accept All Cookies Cookies Settings