Bathroom furniture, signs of recovery in 2024. Opportunities from Green Homes

Companies in the bathroom furnishing system (which includes furniture, taps and fittings, sanitary ware, heated towel rails, shower cubicles and bathtubs) are optimistic about a possible market recovery in the current year, after the setback marked in 2023, which nevertheless followed two extraordinary years of growth, so much so that last year, despite the 4.5% drop compared to 2022, the sector's overall turnover stood at EUR 4.2 billion, thus higher than the EUR 3.4 billion of the pre-pandemic period.

According to the Monitor carried out by FederlegnoArredo's study centre at the end of 2023, in fact, the sample companies interviewed expect an overall increase in sales of 4.9% in 2024, with a more accelerated dynamic abroad (+5.3%), but also positive in Italy (+4.5%), thanks above all to the effects of incentives on the home that, although weakened compared to the two-year post-Covid period, remain.

Among the most dynamic markets, companies point to India, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Poland, Greece, Portugal and Israel. The first figures for the current year show an upward trend towards Spain (+3.1%) and the United States (+11.3%).

An important impulse for the sector could come from the new EU Directive on "green" houses, published in the Official Journal of the EU, which will come into force at the end of May, with a significant impact on the entire real estate sector and therefore also on the bathroom furnishing world, pushing towards more sustainable, efficient and eco-friendly solutions. Solutions for which Italian companies are prepared, as was also seen at the last Salone del Mobile in Milan, last April, within the event dedicated to this sector, where a great diffusion of products and systems designed to reduce water and electricity consumption was seen.

"The EU Green Homes Directive offers us a framework to guide companies and consumers towards more sustainable and responsible practices," confirms Assobagno president Elia Vismara. The focus on the bathroom environment is crucial, as it represents a key point within the home, where even small measures can make a big difference in terms of functionality, comfort, water and energy savings. It is one of the domestic environments that consumes the most water, but thanks to product innovation it is possible to optimise daily use. For example, modern mixer taps have more than halved water consumption from 12 litres per minute to just 5 litres within a decade.