The global home textiles market is worth about $70 billion, having grown at a consistent rate of 5 percent during the past five years, according to a survey of the NPD Group, which provides market information and advisory services to drive better business decisions.
The United States is the world’s single biggest market of home textiles, with $18 billion in sales annually. The second largest market for home textiles is the European Union, with $15 billion in sales.
Home textiles include bed sheets and coverings; bath towels and mats; kitchen textiles; table linens; fabric window treatments; area rugs, and other smaller categories of soft home products.
The world’s majority of suppliers are clustered predominantly in China, India and Pakistan.
The global bed and bath textile furnishings industry alone is expected to reach almost $28 billion by 2015, predicts Global Industry Analysts. The market, it explains, is fueled by brisk residential construction and “a trend towards home decoration that sees consumers get increasingly involved in changing their homes to suit their tastes.” Demand for original, colorful bed furnishings in such emerging markets as Latin America and Asia-Pacific is also driving the market, reports Global Industry Analysts.
Growth in the home goods area in the U.S. is attributed to an improving housing market, says the National Retail Federation: “Consumers have come out of hibernation and have begun sprucing up their homes or buying for their new homes.”
In fact, the results of a recent survey carried out by NPD Fashionworld among American women, designed to discover their chief spending interests, indicated 68% plan to spend mostly on home furnishings and only 49% on fashion.
For home textiles, the future is looking solid.