Statistically, everything is going swimmingly for the bath and shower market at present. According to forecast figures from Euromonitor International, the sector is tipped to have increased by 2.1% in 2013 to reach nearly US$38.6bn and Oru Mohiuddin, Senior Analyst at Euromonitor, notes that in 2012, “bath and shower products performed above the industry growth rate”.
However, Mohiuddin adds that this “was primarily due to developments in emerging markets”, driven by “greater market penetration” as well as consumers “upgrading to more sophisticated ranges” from bar soap. “Emerging markets are slowing down,” she warns. “So bath and shower, which is mostly reliant on emerging markets, will be strongly impacted. Manufacturers need to drive growth in western markets and to do this they need to be more innovative.”