Bath Pushed Back To Basics

摘要

While it's obviously always better to gain sales as opposed to slipping a notch, bath category suppliers might consider themselves lucky that 2007 finished off a somewhat status quo sales year-with total industry sales dropping 1% to $3,699 billion from 2006's $3,737 billion -in a period of few shifts in distribution or merchandise mix.rnConsidering the economic environment in 2008, suppliers might even look back fondly on 2007 results.rnThe top five suppliers in the four main bath product categories-towels, rugs, accessories and shower curtains-suffered a collective 8% decline in sales in 2007. While not entirely representative of the heavily fragmented total bath industry, these numbers demonstrate that even the most powerful players lost significant business last year.