The findings of a major research project into the size of the UK custom installation (CI) industry were presented at CEDIA’s ‘The Future of Home Technology’ Conference in London on 24 October. Commissioned by CEDIA, the research was conducted by Parks Associates, whose director of home systems, Tom Kerber (pictured), presented the findings.
One key figure calculated in the research was how many CI installers are active in the UK. Parks found that the figure of 1,250 lay in the centre of the estimated range.
The research used two methods to estimate the value of the UK CI market. The first was to estimate installers’ average turnover, and to multiply this by the number of installers; the second was to calculate and multiply the average value of projects and the number of projects per year per installer, and multiply this by the number of installers.
Parks Associates found that the UK CI market in 2011 was worth between £720 milliion and £950 million. It also determined that, if survey respondents’ predictions came true, the market value will increase to over £1 billion in 2012.
A total of 226 Electronic Systems Professional (ESP) members completed the survey, which was based around an online questionnaire with some telephone follow-up. A hyperlink to the survey form was sent to CEDIA’s entire database – not just CEDIA members – and was also forwarded by a number of UK distributors, manufacturers and other industry stakeholders to their networks.
CEDIA intends to commission a similar survey into the European CI market in 2013.
