As attendees packed up and headed home from Orlando, a clearer picture of the building products landscape came into focus. Todd Tomalak, principal of building products and remodeling at Zonda, came away with a clear takeaway: caution is defining the market, manufacturers are under pressure, but innovation and targeted opportunity haven’t disappeared. From luxury appliance buzz to bold design bets and shifting channel strategies, the week surfaced seven intriguing observations that hint at where momentum may build next.
- Soft new construction, with significant caution: Luxury remodels gaining intrigue. I did hear some reports of sequential, albeit quite modest, improvement in select categories.
- Luxury appliances, where industry growth appears first: Appliances clearly had the most buzz. Did you know that luxury appliance spend has been below 2019 levels since 2023? And appliances last about two years shorter versus prior cycles. Interestingly, we model kitchen with the most ‘upside surprise’ if HELOC, mobility, and incomes were to improve. Not in our forecast officially, but intriguing as we look at the line of visitors waiting for Monogram booth.
- Manufacturers are hurting and it shows. Came away with the sense there are a number of extremely well-run brands, but matched with mediocre product management. The head of product for a major public company was unable to explain fundamental pricing questions, with poor intuition on second-order questions that should be ‘old hat.’ Hand-written pricing signs equals desperation and discounting.
- Intrigued by the change in bold colors/finishes. I’m not a designer, however a shift to bold color usage has economic connotation. Bold colors cycle faster and more distinctly than timeless colors. Remodel cycles have gotten longer over the past decade, but a shift to more prominent colors could itself be a catalyst for a bit faster design cycles ahead. Time will tell.
- Well-executed brands seem to matter more. In a sea of discounting, it’s striking to see Kohler’s Studio McGee gaining momentum. Huber did exceptionally well also.
- Channels gaining influence, with distinct differences in channel strategy. Channel booths were busy, and intriguing destinations:
- Lowes leveraged manufacturer partners, like DeWalt. The booth was a party of fun activities, all tilted toward contractors. Did you note how aggressively contractors raced in the ‘screw the board’ competition?
- Home Depot wooed complex pros—an entirely different strategy. Arguably the most plush carpet, comfortable seating, and snacks provided a restful haven for fatigued visitors, while Home Depot discussed supporting large multifamily and $5 million custom home projects.
- QXO brought in eyeballs by exceptional giveaways (Ray-Bans), and the whisper of Brad Jacobs being at the show. Remember that QXO is gaining alliances in building products/housing leadership at this stage, and memorability is important, rather than contractor experiences.
- Innovation. There were some exceptionally clever and encouraging innovations that give me faith in the path ahead. Whirlpool released a clever AI oven which uses computer vision to cook properly. ‘HydroBlok’ simplified/improved exterior finish process in nearly every metric, and is just starting to grow.
