Bioclimatic pergolas suffered a setback in volume for the first time and declined by -8,3% in 2022. Especially in the second half of the year, the whole outdoor living market was affected by a lack of demand, mainly due to the negative impact of the crisis on consumers’ spending.  “Bioclimatic pergolas experienced double-digit growth during COVID and a slowdown was expected, although more gradual” explains Dr. Armandi, the author of the study, and adds “in the medium-term fundamentals are still good and demand will resume”. Interconnection that the market will grow at an average yearly rate of 2,3% up to 2025 with a recovery expected only from 2024.

Mature markets underperforming

Demand fell stronger in mature markets like France and Italy. Short-term factors played a role, but the high level already reached by bioclimatic pergolas in these countries pointed to a stabilization. More unexpectedly, the German market failed to grow in 2022, but pergolas overperformed relative to other outdoor living solutions, which were heavily impacted by the crisis. Still, the German market is expected to recover faster in the next 3 years as bioclimatic pergolas are becoming increasingly popular. The French market counts for more than one third of all bioclimatic pergolas sold in 2022, followed by Italy and Benelux.

Prices will start to stabilize a bit in the next 2 years

Average price rose by +11,1% in 2022. Higher prices more than compensated the fall in quantity and  revenues have reached now 420 million euros. Despite the current slowdown, the turnover has doubled in the last 5 years. However, Interconnection predicts that in the next 2 years turnover will go back slightly below 400 million euros as prices will finally start to stabilize a bit.

Premium, high-quality solutions now counts for 32,1% of the market and kept overperforming  in the last years. There are however huge country differences: in Benelux premium solutions covers more than  half of the market, while in France only 1 out of 10 pergolas belongs to the high-end segment.

Pergolas with ZIP-Screens as side protection gaining popularity

Stand-alone pergolas constitute 48,6% of the whole market, while pergolas with a side protection element keep expanding strongly. Among the different types of side protection, Zip-Screens are the most popular: two out of three bioclimatic pergolas are sold with at least one ZIP-Screens and this proportion is even higher in the premium segment. The three main competitors in Europe are Brustor, Pratic and Renson.

Stefano Armandi / Armandi@interconnectionconsulting.com

Turnover in the European roofing market increased by 15.9% last year, much more than sales volume (+4.0%). This was mainly due to price increases, which rose sharply due to the shortage of materials. A further steep price increase with moderate sales volume development is also expected for 2022, as a study by Interconnection Consulting shows.

The massive price increases on the one hand and also the backlog of orders due to the pandemic on the other led to a strong growth of the industry in Europe. The market volume grew from 5.7 billion euros to 6.5 billion euros in the examined markets. A further increase in turnover of over 40% is even expected for 2022.

Germany and France Dominate

There are also large price differences among the individual countries, so that although Germany is the largest market for roofing in terms of sales, France is the market leader in Europe in terms of sales, with a share of 19.4%, ahead of Germany with 17.9% and the UK with 14%. Germany leads the sales ranking with 17.9% market share, ahead of Turkey with 12.6% and France and the UK with 10.8% each. While annual sales growth is expected to remain low in the double digits until 2025, sales will only progress at a leisurely pace. In Germany the forecast growth is only 1.6%, in Italy still 2.9%.

Different Roof Types in Different Countries

The predominant roof types in the individual countries are also different. In Russia and France, pitched roofs dominate with a share of 54% and 66% respectively. In Germany and Austria, too, this segment is still just ahead. In Italy, it is flat roofs that dominate with around 53%. The flat roof is also the market leader in Spain and the Benelux countries. Overall, the pitched roof segment has a market share of 52.8%. The largest sales market is the residential market with a share of 62.2%.

The global roofing market is expected to increase sales by about a third this year, according to a new study by Interconnection Consulting. However, most of the growth comes not from increased sales but from inflationary trends.

In 2022, the market volume for roofing is expected to rise from €16.6 billion to €21.9 billion, an increase of 31.8%. However, this increase is mainly due to price increases. Supply chain issues leading to a shortage of supply have already led to price increases of 15% to 140% in 2021. Price increases should continue in Q1 and Q2 of 2022, while sales volume growth is expected to be comparatively moderate at +6.7%.

Romania and Poland Grow Strongest

The world’s largest market for roofing in value is China, which takes a 33.6% share among the countries analysed (see below), followed by the US with 21.4%. Romania and Poland are the fastest growing markets, although growth is characterised more by inflation than by a strong increase in sales. Thus, the annual increase in these two countries until 2025 is 30 and 22%, respectively. High growth potential is also found in Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates. Germany is the country with the strongest sales volume in Europe. A strong increase in new constructions also raises expectations for the sector in Germany and France, with average growth rates of over 7% in the two most important markets in Europe.

Flat Roofs Dominate

Overall, it is the new construction segment that is driving the economy. With average growth rates of 7-8% until 2025, the segment is growing significantly faster than the renovation sector. Residential construction is the dominant sector with a share of 63%. The predominant roof segment is flat roofs with 49% and still increasing market shares, ahead of pitched roofs with 43.7%. Bitumen, which is the dominant building material for flat roofs, will lose a little share because the increase is lower (+3.6%) than the market average. Overall, bitumen has a share of around 47%.

The study looked at the following countries: UK, Benelux, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Sweden, Turkey, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, USA, China.