The number of luxury fitted kitchens (defined as a typical client spend of £45,000+) sold by specialists saw a slight slip in 2018, against the previous year, but the share of sales rose to 26/5%.

It is the first decline in the UK luxury kitchen market for the past 7 years, as 2011-2017 saw the number of kitchens in the highest price bracket increase from just under 28,000 to over 44,000.

In this six year period, the kitchen specialists share of luxury kitchen sales rose from 20.3% to 26.1%, according to the JKMR Report on the UK Luxury Kitchen Market.

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It further cited imported brands are the single largest source of fitted cabinetry for highest cost kitchens and increased their share of installation year-on-year to 2017.

According to the report, the increase was driven by the favourable exchange rate, which made European product price competitive with comparable British brands.

In addition, it revealed the UK market was more buoyant than German or Italian markets, making exports a key part of kitchen manufacturers’ company sales philosophy.

This resulted in marketing spend and showroom investment for a number of European brands.

In 2018, imported furniture’s share of the luxury kitchen market dropped to 36% but remain key to sales.

Whereas, the report stated UK rigid brands have seen continued increase in top-end kitchen installations within the studio sector.

However, it pointed out sector share gains have been limited as high-end national UK rigid brands (including artisan players such as Smallbone) “are unable to counteract the growth of small, local, bespoke players”.

For a copy of the JKMR Report on the UK Luxury Kitchen Market, contact Jayne Barber at jkbarber1965@live.co.uk