Untapped opportunities

Accounting for 72 per cent of the wider region's sales, China is a major driver for home improvement in Asia Pacific. Asia Pacific continued to showcase strong growth in 2018, with retail value sales climbing by 2.8 per cent (constant terms, i.e. excluding inflation).
Nonetheless, retail value growth continued its downward trajectory in China over 2013-2018, falling year-on-year. Most recently, changes in the housing market have put pressure on consumer industries, including home improvement. The Chinese government's attempt to expand the amount of rental housing available to Chinese consumers has had unintended consequences, namely attracting property investors into the market which has caused a surge in rents in many cities across China. Rising rents squeeze discretionary income, leaving less money available for home improvement and home furnishing products.
Interestingly, more than 88 per cent of households in China were homeowners in 2018, however, a number of these homes (maybe as much as 20 per cent) are likely to be vacant. Property speculation is a major issue in China and the geography is thought to have some of the highest vacancy rates in the world.
In contrast to home improvement sales in Europe and North America, the product mix differs in China, due to the Do-It-For-Me nature of consumers. Floor covering (i.e. floor tiles and wooden flooring) accounted for almost half of all home improvement sales in China during 2018. Together, home paint and wall covering accounted for a further 20 per cent of home improvement retail value sales in 2018.

Slower economic growth prospects and the sluggish housing market are the key architects of deceleration in China's home improvement market over the forecast period, with mostly all subcategories showcasing slower growth over 2018-2023 when compared with the historic period (i.e. 2013-2018). Nonetheless, value-adding innovations are expected to drive the decorative paint category (6.7 per cent value CAGR over 2018-2023). Consumers are embracing "green" paint products, but the focus is on healthy living, e.g. Akzo Nobel's Dulux BioCare series.
E-commerce players, Alibaba Group and JD.com Inc, recognise the untapped opportunities in the highly fragmented home improvement and home furnishing…