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 The European
table top market is at present estimated to be worth a
total of €4 billion. Candles are the largest single
product within the market with a share of 34%, or almost €1400
million. This market overview, however, will focus on tissue
based table top products, ie napkins and table covers – a
selection which well reflects the entire market.
Napkins alone make up approximately 30%, equal to €1,200
million; whereas the table cover market is about €250
million. The table top market can also be split in to two
customer segments: retail and professional.
Retail constitutes about one third of the market, while
the professional segment makes up the remaining two thirds.
Annual growth for these two segments is in the region of
5%. Products are usually divided into commodity and premium.
The premium market is growing faster (6-7%) than the commodity
market (around 3%).
Geographically, Central and Western Europe, including the
Nordic countries, constitutes a €800-900 million market.
It is mature and well developed with a 65% share of premium
sales with moderate growth, averaging roughly 4% a year.
Southern Europe is somewhat smaller. Total sales add up
to around €500-600 million, while growth exceeds that
of Central and Western Europe by 1-2 percentage points.
Additionally Southern Europe is developing from a low end
market towards a premium. In contrast, Eastern Europe still
remains a relatively small market, worth only about €70
million, mainly emanating from commodity.
FRAGMENTED COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Duni is the leading European table top solutions provider,
with a total market share of 18%. Offering products for
all eating and drinking occasions, IT focuses on premium
offerings, primarily addressing the professional segment
with a strong presence in the retail market. Duni is one
of the integrated players with its own tissue, airlaid
mill. There are a few large integrated companies and a
lot of smaller players.
Generally, the large integrated corporations have a strong
position in high volume commodity products, especially
within the retail segment. A common strategy among the
many smaller players (converters) is to pursue regional
niches with a limited or specialized product offering.
“As a large player Duni focuses on premium offerings”,
says Thomas Lööb at Duni. “It has established
itself as a company renowned for innovative performance,
attractive design and great functionality.”
The company also prides itself in its
sales force, which is the most extensive in Europe selling
Table Top. “Local
market adaptation is a part of our strategy. The aim is
to enable our sales representatives to work very close
to the end customer, advising and counseling them on the
latest developments and trends in everything from colors
and designs to new materials and other innovations,” explains
Lööb.
That approach has given the company its current status
as a forerunner in the business. Already in 1965 Duni introduced
the unique table cover material Dunicel, which still is
th benchmark in the market. Similarly, Duni was the first
company to use airlaid material for napkins, introducing
Dunilin1982.
 Later years have seen pioneering products such as Softer
Tissue, which is a glued tissue, specialized for printed
napkins and that offers a combination of good absorption,
function and advanced design. Most recent additions are
concepts such as the Tête-à-Tête table
placemats and Sacchetto, a time saving solution particularly
designed to meet the trend of bare table settings.
Looking into the future, what trends and/or fashions are
most likely to influence the business?
Lööb discerns four separate issues that will
transform the market in greater or lesser extent in the
coming years. His analysis is based on a variety of different
intelligence sources, such as McKinsey, Harvard Business
Review and Eurostat.
“Firstly, there is a drive towards polarization.
This process is on the whole consumer and customer driven.
Purchases are more and more split into premium and low
price products, respectively. This will generate more sales
in both the top and the bottom segment but at the expense
of middle priced products. However, increased volumes will
generate opportunities for premium products as well as
products in the cheaper end of the commodity segment,” he
concludes.
Secondly, there is the urban trend. Europeans tend to eat
more and more take away meals. This creates opportunities
for meal distribution but also for a wide range of table
top solutions.
This stimulates us to intensify our search for more convenient
and economical solutions as well as new ways to satisfy
the demand for high class table settings, he says. In my
view this generates tremendous opportunities for a variety
of premium disposable solutions such as Têteà-
Tête,
Sacchetto and similar concepts.
Price competition in commodity and retail is the third
trend that the Duni representative emphasizes. He believes
that consolidation and purchase pooling in retail will
eventually lead to larger and fewer contracts.
This is first and foremost bad news for smaller companies.
They will face increasing difficulties to deliver on the
terms required, whereas the larger companies are more likely
to adapt to the situation.
 Last, but not least, outsourcing and the continued pursuit
of lower and more cost efficient production. Or in one
word, globalization. “More
and more production is moved to low cost countries in Eastern
Europe and Asia.” he points out.
When asked how Duni is planning to keep ahead of the competition,
Lööb
is a bit more secretive. Nevertheless he reveals that the
company is to launch three to five new product concepts
in the coming year. The big news item, however, is due
already this coming fall. Duni will then launch a totally
new napkin material. It has the feel of the softest fabric
and an elegant shimmer.
“It is the first new material for table top use in
a decade,” according to Lööb. Who, no doubt,
certainly hopes it also will keep Duni on top of the competition
in years to come. TW |
