Sales in terms of quantity for conservatories and patio roofs in the DACH region increased by 12.9% in 2021. Last year, sales were with 18.7.5% slightly lower than in 2020. However, the plateau for the next few years has already been reached in the sales figures. Until 2025, Interconnection Consulting forecasts an average annual decline of 1.4% in volume.

Stagflation unleashes prices

The peak on the market for winter gardens and terrace roofs is already exceeded 2022, because this will shrink this year already by 0.9% in quantity. In a regional comparison, Switzerland showed a weaker development than Germany and Austria. The growth of the market was 7% in Switzerland last year compared to double-digit growth figures in Austria and Germany. “This has to do with the fact that single-family homes in Switzerland often have large living spaces and window areas and thus, on the one hand, no additional conservatories and roofs are necessary,” explains Johannes Lözelt, author of the study. Overall, the sales volume was 76,795 units and the total turnover was 301.4 million euros. Just in the COVID time, when people did not go on vacation, they invested in the expansion of their private homes. However, since the middle of 2022, the market has been visibly cooling down. In the next few years, stagflation (stagnation and inflation) will on the one hand reduce demand for conservatories and patio roofs, and on the other hand, increase prices by an average of 5% per year.

Terrace roofs preferred

In all the markets studied, patio roofs are the favored segment, mainly due to price advantages and the climatic changes that hardly justify insulated installations. In a regional comparison, Austria has the largest share with 23.7% followed by Switzerland (14.6%) and Germany 10.4%. In all three countries, the share of patio roofs will continue to increase. Terrace roofs will continue to gain market share in the coming years, as their construction is technically much easier than that of conservatories. Aluminum is the dominant material on the DACH market and will continue to gain market share over other materials. The regional comparisons show that the volume share of aluminum in 2021 was highest in Germany with 95.5%. However, the aluminum share in Austria and Switzerland is also beyond 90%. The major players in the DACH market are, in alphabetical order: Aluxe, Gardendreams, KD, Solarlux and Wipro, which together account for around 54% of the market.

Quantity of sales of conservatories and patio roofs in the Benelux countries increased by 8.5% in 2021. Turnover even increased by 14.5%. The market will not quite be able to maintain the high sales rates of the COVID years in the coming years. Until 2025, Interconnection Consulting forecasts an average annual decline of 3.4% in volume.

Strongly increased prices due to stagflation

The peak in the market for conservatories and patio roofs has already passed in 2022. This is because the market will decline by 5.6% in volume this year. In a regional comparison, Belgium performed best last year with a growth of 11.5%, followed by Luxembourg (7.4%) and the Netherlands (6.6%). Overall, the sales volume was 23,012 units and the market sales value was 86.9 million euros. Especially in the COVID period when people did not go on vacation, they invested in the expansion of their private homes. Thus, despite stagnant figures in construction completions, a significant increase in sales of conservatories and patio roofs was achieved. In 2022, the increase in construction completions will be 5.6%, but after that the momentum will slow down also due to the onset of stagflation. Stagflation will, on the one hand, reduce demand for conservatories and patio roofs, but on the other hand, prices will increase by an average of 7% per year.

Higher share and higher growth for patio roofs

In all the markets studied, patio roofs are the favored segment, mainly due to price advantages and the climatic changes that hardly justify insulated systems. A regional comparison shows that Luxembourg has the highest sales share of conservatories with 15.7%, ahead of the Netherlands with 12.4 and Belgium with 10.6%. In the future, conservatories will show a lower growth rate than patio roofs. “There will be a trend towards “cold buildings”, which in turn will support the trend towards patio roofs,” says Johannes Lözelt, author of the study. Patio roofs will continue to be in high demand, because they are less complex and more forgiving of construction errors, Lözelt added.

The market for conservatories and patio roofs in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH) was a big beneficiary of the Corona measures, as a study by Interconnection Consulting shows. In 2020, sales rose by a staggering 16.6% and the boom will continue this year (+13.8%). Austria and Germany even grew by more than 20% in 2020.

Investing in one’s own home became a popular sport during the pandemic. After moderate growth figures in the years before the pandemic, the growth of sales, as well as the turnover of conservatories and patio roofs in the DACH region exploded. The high savings due to travel restrictions and other restrictions on public life were poured into the home. Sales in the sector increased the most in Germany (+21.1%) and in Austria (+20.8%). The Swiss market increased by “only” 13.2% in comparison. “Swiss single-family homes very often have large living rooms and window fronts and therefore, on the one hand, an addition with a ceiling is not necessary and, on the other hand, it is often not even technically possible,” explains Daniel Kollar, the author of the study. For 2021, Interconnection expects growth to continue at a similar level. Many providers are already reporting full order books until September. From 2022, business is expected to decline significantly because people will use their money for travel and other pleasures again. Interconnection expects an average annual increase of 2.0% for Germany, 1.7% for Switzerland and 0.6% for Austria between 2020 and 2024.

Five Companies Share Half of the Total Market

The study takes into account conservatories and patio roofs from profile and system suppliers. Profile suppliers deliver profiles and planning systems to metal builders who produce finished conservatories from these semi-finished products. Important profile suppliers are Schüco and Heroal. System suppliers deliver completely finished systems to building element dealers and metal builders, who then install them at the end customer (e.g. Gardendreams, Aluxe). The products are mostly made of aluminium, more rarely of plastic or aluminium-wood combinations.  Overall, it can be said that patio roofs grew more last year than conservatories (13.4%), with sales growth of 17.3%. Patio roofs account for 82.1% of the total market. In the DACH countries, the market share of the top five suppliers for conservatories and patio roofs is 49.2%.