Perfect Time for a Change

I don’t know whether you’ve been in the market for some new curtains, blinds or curtain poles recently, but it’s a difficult purchase to make; the entire journey from product selection to installation is full of friction and the in-store experience is often disappointing.

According to Global Data, the UK market for Window Dressings including curtains, blinds, shutters, nets, voiles and accessories, including curtain poles is worth around ￡1.5bn. Despite the COVID driven boom in Home Improvement expenditure, in 2020, this market declined by around 5.8%, but why, that just doesn’t make sense? We all spent so long at home, staring at the rooms that needed updating, the walls that needed painting and the floors that need replacing and yet, we collectively chose to spend less last year on the curtains, blinds and poles category?

Were all the other home improvement and home enhancement products more affordable than curtains, blinds and poles? I don’t think so. Replacing your curtains or blinds is no more expensive than a full decorating job and far less than replacing a floor. Are the other products more accessible or do they compete with this category? Again, no they don’t.?

From Dunelm to Next, Homebase to Argos and from B&Q to B&M and Wilko, there are many national retailers who offer curtains, blinds, curtain poles and accessories and let’s not forget the many independent specialists who have successfully survived the decline of the high-street and COVID, despite their non-essential status last year.

Type the words ‘Curtains and Blinds’ into Google and there’s an even greater selection of retailers ready to meet your needs, from the very largest Hillarys.co.uk, to the company they were forced to sell by the CMA last year' 247 Home Furnishings (otherwise they would have had a monopoly) to Blinds 2 Go to BlindsDirect and Wayfair.

If you're interested there's more information on this here 'Final decision published in window blind merger inquiry'.

There are even online specialists selling just curtain poles like www.PolesDirect.com! I know, can you believe it, a company has been able to carve out a successful business out of a relatively niche product area like that and you know what, they are pretty good too. Part of the Interior Goods Direct Limited business, this company has been selling exclusively online since 2003 and they make buying blinds and curtain poles online fairly simple and easy. So, with choice of retailer, availability and affordability not an issue, why is this category still in decline? I decided to dig deeper.

Screenshot of Poles Direct.com website

What’s the consumer motivation?

Firstly, I wanted to understand what motivates the consumer to purchase in categories such as these? The obvious answer is a house move or the search for a new look and in both cases, the buyer is choosing far more than just the window dressings themselves, they’re searching and selecting a whole range of products for a room or multiple rooms in their home. Wanting better quality curtains, blinds or poles is an important factor and so is keeping up with the very latest products, colours or trends. It’s almost always a carefully thought-through purchase decision that can take weeks or even months to complete and as a result, consumers rarely impulse purchase in this category, so a special offer or keen price, won’t make any difference if the product or style is wrong.

Store Visits

Armed with a better understanding of the category, I decided to head out into stores and find out for myself what was really happening. From the very first store that I visited, it was obvious why this category is in decline.

Functional Displays

Many other home improvement categories such as Decorating, Flooring and Storage have changed significantly over the years. Retailers and suppliers have worked successfully together, using a solid understanding of consumer needs and behaviour to transform the in-store experience and deliver categories that make the selection and purchasing of products simple and easy. For curtain poles and blinds, this simply hasn’t happened. I was so surprised to see these categories virtually unchanged in what must be the last 20-30 years. (If anyone has any pictures to prove or disprove this, please share them with me). Products displayed on their end in clear acetate boxes, where the only differentiator is length of the product and price as opposed to other more important features such as style, colour or the materials used.

You can’t escape the fact that the category is space hungry, it’s the very nature of the products themselves. To generate a good return from the space is therefore critical and helping consumers to trade up to better quality options, materials or the latest look is so important.

Lack of Inspiration

I often complain about how retailers continue to sell far too many of their products functionally, which is not what consumers are looking for. They want to be inspired; they want to be able to imagine the end result in their own homes. Nowhere could I get to touch the actual curtain poles or blinds, never mind see a decent display showing what the products would look like in a room. There’s also no link between the curtain poles and the actual curtains, which surely is a purchase that often takes place at the same time.

When you compare this with the paint, wallpaper and flooring displays, you can clearly see how this category has been left so far behind.

Plastic Packaging

What also really concerned me was the widespread use of acetate packaging, the clear plastic boxes that every single blind and curtain pole is displayed in. It’s the plastic packaging that we always have trouble opening and often cut ourselves in the process, before we immediately throw it away! Apparently curtain poles and blinds is one of the worst offending product categories for plastic packaging and we collectively dump around 240,000kg of this into landfill every year.

Next April, the government will be introducing the Plastic Packaging Tax. If you’re not aware of this, there’s more at the link below. This is a new tax that will apply to plastic packaging manufactured in, or imported into the UK, that does not contain at least 30% recycled plastic. Almost all the packaging for curtain poles and blinds is imported into the UK and to my knowledge none of it contains the 30% recycled element. This is going to be a significant additional cost for retailers and manufacturers as the legislation will affect ‘UK manufacturers of plastic packaging, importers of plastic packaging, business customers of manufacturers and importers of plastic packaging, and consumers who buy plastic packaging or goods in plastic packaging in the UK’.

Plastic Packaging Tax -?https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/introduction-of-plastic-packaging-tax-from-april-2022/introduction-of-plastic-packaging-tax-2021

Transforming the Category

It has to be time for a change and there simply must be a better way to sell these products from a physical store. A quick Google search reveals many examples of best practice from retailers outside of the UK - here’s just a few exciting examples from the US.

To reinvent this category, I believe there are some critical steps that manufacturers and retailers need to take: -

1. Improve the customer shopping experience in-store – introduce clearer segmentation between products, a simple step by step purchase process and obvious trade up options for better quality products.
2. Availability of on-trend colours, finishes and designs and the introduction of a regular seasonal refresh.
3. Inspirational displays, showing open products in real settings that customers can touch and feel.
4. Complete removal of all acetate packaging and replacement with environmentally friendly alternatives including recyclable packaging such as cardboard.
5. Where possible, introduce features that make the installation of curtain poles and blinds easier for consumers to complete themselves.

One company that is currently focusing its efforts on transforming this category is Rothley.

Their Managing Director Stuart Hobbs explained why Rothley chose to revisit the curtain pole market,?“there was very little colour or finish choice to match contemporary interior design trends. After extensive consumer insight work, we’re back with a much more environmentally considerate selection, an easy to install system and a vast selection of fashionable, colour coordinated options for consumers to personalise their pole, fixings and finials selection”.

All finials are push-fit and compatible with all 25mm poles, once again making it easy to change if you require a different look, without having to replace the whole rail, costing you time, money and encouraging more waste to end up in landfill. You can mix colour finishes to tie together trending metal accents you may have within your room sets, such as Matt Black and Antique Brass, or match them to your chosen pole for a classic look.

The new “klick-fit” bracket is the star product with no unsightly grub screws or awkward installation. The back plate can be screwed in using a parallel action, reducing the need for difficult angles and potential damage to your fixing surface. The poles are then placed into the non-slip clip with no need to fix into the rail, avoiding scratches. The clip-fit system also makes replacing your pole hassle free if you decide on a new colour later.

Read more here on 'Rothley Reinventing the Curtain Pole Category'.

The in-store environment

Rothley are also working hard on improving the in-store experience and I’ve been able to get visibility of their latest thinking.?Their customisable “Mix & match” 25mm system now lets shoppers choose their pole, brackets, finials and rings separately, allowing them to create a unique personalised combination that fits their chosen home décor. The range is available in a range of on-trend colours including Matt Black, Antique Copper, Antique Brass, Brushed or Polished Silver effect with 5 styles of finial available.

Conclusion

There is a significant profit opportunity within the curtain pole and blinds category for retailers and manufacturers who are interested in making a change, who really understand what consumers are looking for and have the products to meet those needs. With the onset of the Packaging Tax and with consumers still very much focused on investing in their homes, now is the Perfect Time for a Change.

Steve Collinge is an international speaker, influencer, retail commentator and is Managing Director of Insight Retail Group Ltd and executive editor of Insight DIY. You can follow Steve on?LinkedIn here?on?Twitter here?and contact him via?DM on LinkedIn.