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Comments supplied by David Houghton
Commercial manager, Franke
Curtain call for changing rooms
But what an impact it’s had on our industry
There's some debate whether Changing Rooms marked designer brilliance or decorating disaster, but there's no doubt that the programme gave the home improvement market a real makeover.
Changing Rooms, which was the first show of its kind when it appeared on screens in 1996, regularly attracted ten million viewers and saw neighbour battle it out against neighbour in a contest of plaster, plywood and paint.
Since its launch, we've seen the emergence of a multitude of copycat programmes and it seems that we still can't get enough of DIY TV, with a recent survey revealing that the average homeowner watches nine hours and fifteen minutes every month.
The end result is we're now carrying out twice as much time on DIY than we did before, spending an average of 13 hours and 20 minutes on DIY per month, compared to just six hours in 1999.
The increase in popularity of DIY has led to a serious growth of the kitchen and bathroom sector, with people being inspired to rip out entire rooms in order to add value to their properties.
The rise of the DIY show has also resulted in a far more discerning consumer with a much greater understanding of the products available to suit their taste and needs.
Coinciding with this, the distribution network has evolved and strengthened, resulting in far fewer but much larger distribution channels.
The main distributors, which have offered a national service for several years rather than operating in specific regions as was previously the case, also have a much greater range of stock, in order to meet the demands of the more discerning consumers.
The upshot of this is the consumer gets what they actually wanted rather than another available alternative, and the manufacturers benefit from the sale of their products rather than losing out to a competitor.
So, love it or loathe it there's no denying the positive economic impact Changing Rooms has had on our industry over the last ten years. But 13 series later, and with at least ten other programmes vying for the attention of the adventurous DIYer, it probably was about time Handy Andy hung up his hammer and saw.
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