Future Trends & Influencing Factors-ceramics and porcelain

The global ceramics and porcelain home-ware market is characterized by globalization, consolidation, and casualization trends. The recent ‘casual’ lifestyle in the US and Europe, for instance, prompted leading players to adopt contemporary patterns, colors and styles.

The ceramic, stemware, and plate-ware segments witnessed the emergence of platinum and gold decoration in the upper-market segments. Pastel and citrus colors led the palette in the dinnerware segment. The industry today is replete with a range of mix-match and coordinated product lines. The growing importance being accorded to product appearance and aesthetic appeal can no longer be overlooked, and can be typified by the recent trend of manufacturers roping in fashion designers to help design professionally styled and elegant products such as dinnerware, flatware, and crystal-ware.

The outlook for the house-ware market is quite optimistic, as the fundamentals of the market remain strong and several markets are showing signs of recovery. The relatively mature North American and European markets have lately forced market participants to move in search of greener pastures such as Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Europe constitutes the largest regional market for ceramics and porcelain home-ware.

The United States, however, is the single largest market in terms of sales. In the mature U.S. market, gains are mainly led by replacement sales. There exists a marked shift in consumer preferences from conventional ornamental and antique designs to contemporary styled home-ware. Growth is, however, expected to mainly emanate from the Asia-Pacific market, which is poised to register the fastest compounded annual growth over the period 2007-2015.

Overall, the global ceramics and porcelain home-ware market is forecast to keep growing in the five year period 2012-2017. With the expansion of casual living culture and the recovery of the global economy and consumer confidence, the ceramics and porcelain home-ware markets are expecting huge boosts.