Rothley: Future-Gazing Into The UK Design Market In 2022

Stuart Hobbs, Managing Director of Rothley - one of the leading European suppliers of DIY, builders products and hardware components with over 190 years of experience - provides interior design market trend predictions and explains why we must offer customers greater choice in 2022. 

MARKET TRENDS

One of the most significant lessons we learnt as a business through the extraordinary challenges of the past eighteen months has been that trying to predict the future is a fool’s errand.

Instead, we concentrated on putting in place improvements across every element of the business to allow us to be much more reactive, nimble and agile. 

We’ve done this because our customers are changing. Inspired by social media, they have an expectation that they should be able to adopt new design trends in their home at the same rate they can update their wardrobes. 

But for far too long the industry has been too slow to bring new products to market. 

Last year, of course, saw a huge rise in people doing up their homes. But if we want to have any chance of retaining these new customers for the long term then we need to serve them better.

Only by providing more products, more variety and more choice can we hope to persuade these customers to keep returning to stores. 

And in terms of the general market performance in 2022 - we suspect it will be generally flat and maybe even a little negative as some of the people who occupied their leisure time in 2021 with DIY replace it with socialising and other leisure activities.

One further impact of the pandemic is that the entire innovation eco-system has been hit hard - there has been none of the traditional Chinese trade shows that are vital to bringing new products to market.

As a business at Rothley we have worked hard to overcome disruption material shortages and supply chain problems by focussing on massively reducing our supply chains. We’ve identified much shorter supply routes which provide us with much greater control. 

Brexit itself has not been much of an issue for us thankfully. Our main market is and always has been domestic. We buy a little from Europe and sell a little to them, but it doesn’t move the needle a great deal.

The events of the past 18 months have shown how much of this industry remains stuck in the dark ages. If we are to thrive and prosper we can’t keep flogging customers the same stuff they have been buying for thirty years.

We have to concentrate on providing what consumers want.

Rothley polished copper hairpin 710 legs 

DESIGN TRENDS

In terms of stand-out trends, next year will be all about COLOUR. After being shut indoors for so long during 2020 and 2021 people are returning to locations like restaurants and smart hotels and being inspired by the wonderful interior design they experience there. 

As a result we are focussing our energies on bringing to market products that allow them to get that really prestige look for a really competitive price. 

Materials like antique copper and antique brass are really important to achieving this. Demand for antique brass in particular has skyrocketed in the Nordic countries - and where their interior design trends go - we soon follow.

More time spent at home has seen many of us declutter our living spaces - and that trend is likely to continue. We’re sweeping away ornaments and making a feature of shelves and brackets themselves.

Matt colours and patinated colours are only going to increase in popularity as well as calming shades like rich, dark greens as we are more aware of how they influence our moods and wellbeing.

A monochrome palette of matt whites and matt blacks are also important in helping to create environments that are calming and relaxing.

The pinnacle of decluttering of course remains the wardrobe - and once that has been achieved - it’s straightforward to upgrade that environment. There will be more coordination here with coloured rails - perhaps in antique copper or sleek matt black - with the contents inside hung on matching coat-hangers. 

Kitchens in 2022 will continue to see chrome being abandoned - with antique brass and copper taking its place alongside a palette of calming blues.

Rothley antique brass hairpin 710 legs 

Source : Rothley

Main image : Rothley matt black hairpin 710 legs 

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