Currently en vogue

Home furnishings will be the fastest growing home and garden category in Europe over the next five years, outpacing gardening and home improvement at a 3.3 per cent current value CAGR over 2017-2022. Home décor is currently en vogue and retailers both within and outside the DIY industry are clamouring to secure themselves a slice of the home décor pie.

Home furnishings is comprised of categories such as home textiles, rugs, furniture, decorative objects, blinds, curtains and lighting. Over 2017-2022 the home furnishings category in Europe will expand by EUR 29 bn (in current terms). On the contrary, home improvement and gardening will grow by EUR 9 bn and EUR 5 bn respectively. Furniture will account for over 70 per cent of home furnishings' value growth over the next five years, owing to much higher unit prices. Regardless, in Europe, home textiles, blinds and curtains and light fixtures together will grow by EUR 6 bn over 2017-2022, greater than overall gardening sales growth.  
DIY players looking to make gains through product diversification should concentrate their efforts on a few categories that are forecast to win big over 2017-2022. Aside from furniture, LED lamps and lighting fixtures will be key growth categories, as consumers switch on to smart lighting. Combined, these two categories are expected to increase by more than EUR 3 bn in retail value sales in Europe over 2017-2022. Other fast-growing categories include rugs and window coverings (i.e. blinds and curtains), both growing by more than a 3 per cent value CAGR over the next five years.
The bed category is also forecast to showcase expansion, with mattresses, bed frames and bed textiles rising by almost EUR 5 bn, cumulatively. Bed-in-box companies (e.g. Simba, Eve, Casper etc.) have disrupted mattress sales in Europe, altering typical mattress shopping behaviour by lowering unit prices and moving sales from physical bed stores to websites.
DIY stores have traditionally been known to sell paint, power tools and gardening supplies, but retailer strategies that go beyond core categories may be the key to growing the customer base in the future. A number of high profile M&A transactions suggest that retailers both inside and outside the DIY industry are recognising the need to capture demand all along the renovation/decoration process. In a departure away from its traditional product mix, Home Depot acquired The Company Store, a popular home textiles online retailer…