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Written By Cheryl Dangel Cullen
Uncertainty in the stove market
triggers many questions and predictions.
It is an understatement to say that the economy has had an impact on the hearth industry. That said, both stove manufacturers and dealers want to know what is coming next.
Jeni Forman, vice president of dealer marketing for Hearth & Home Technologies, Lakeville, Minnesota, suggests that there is a reason to be optimistic. “Fortunately, stoves—especially wood stoves—have been affected slightly less than other hearth appliances because they tend to be on the lower end of the price scale, plus homeowners recognize that a biomass stove can reduce their monthly heating bills through both fuel costs and zone-heating applications. This benefit helps these appliances weather the poor to economy,” she says.
Greg Thomas, director of sales at Napoleon Fireplaces & Grills (Barrie, Ontario), agrees, and he is cautiously optimistic that wood-stove sales will continue to grow. He says, “A lot of people are looking at wood because there is that fear that oil prices might go up again. Others are deciding that pellet heating, because it’s too hands on, is not for them. Government tax credits have helped, but not to the extent we thought they would.”
Thomas reports, “Pellet sales are flat right now.” In response to those who say that pellet sales have held their own, Thomas offers a theory. He says, “There was spillover from last year, when everyone was buying pellet stoves with high oil prices, so dealers are selling off old inventory—but sales for pellet stoves are down dramatically this year, compared with last year.”
Gas stoves, however, are making a resurgence, according to Thomas. “The price of natural gas has stabilized, so we’re seeing these sales pick up; everything is adjusting. Last year was insane, with a lot of speculation driving sales. Now, sales are more realistic. People are looking at all their options,” he says.
Not everyone agrees. Alan Murphy says, “The popularity of freestanding gas stoves is declining in favor of gas fireplaces.” Murphy is national sales and marketing manager for Enviro (Saanichton, British Columbia), and he sees the popularity of pellet and wood stoves remaining high. “Consumers realize they can put a fireplace in the same location where they can put a freestanding stove. The popularity of gas inserts remains strong, and the popularity of pellet and wood stoves remains very high. Overall, the market is soft, but gas sales are the softest,” he says.
While many manufacturers attribute the decline in sales of stoves to the economy, Craig Shankster, president of Morsø US, based in Portland, Tennessee, offers another viewpoint. He says, “The popularity of wood stoves in the United States over past 10 years has declined in the region of 45%. Theories are that a chunk of those sales may have gone to pellet or gas stoves, but over the past 10 years, consumers have been looking for something different. Because old-school mentality has prevented consumers from accessing modern stoves, a large chunk of consumers literally turned around and went in a direction.”
He continues, “For our brand, we’re seeing the opposite of what the U.S. market is doing. We’re increasing our sales, year after year, by 25%, so there is very much a demand for the more modern look. It isn’t mainstream, but it won’t be long before it is a recognized segment of the market.”
Adapting to the Economy
A soft economy hasn’t put a damper on aggressive research and development. Napoleon Fireplaces & Grills introduced the Independence stove 1450, a new wood stove, in the summer of 2009. The company took an existing design and trimmed off some of its options to streamline it and make it more economical, reducing its suggested price to $999. Also new is the NPS 45 pellet stove. Here, Napoleon took an existing design and added advanced technology to create a higher-end pellet stove.
Forman reports that Hearth & Home Technologies continues to innovate in the stove market with both the Harman and Quadra-Fire brands. “We are constantly striving to maintain our position as the efficiency leader in stoves,” she says.
Quadra-Fire continues to work on delivering its entire wood lineup, including inserts, with its exclusive Advanced Combustion Control technology. New stoves for 2009 include the Quadra-Fire 5700 Step Top wood stove; the Quadra-Fire Santa Fe and Quadra-Fire CB 1200, both updated pellet stoves; and the Harman Super Magnum Stoker, a coal-burning stove.
Enviro has given its gas products a new brand name (Westgate Luxury Fireplaces), has developed a new molding process to offer logs with a more realistic look, and has launched the Enviro M55 pellet stove. “It can now burn almost anything—good pellets, bad pellets, grains of any sort, and corn. We’ve yet to find any fuel that will not burn in this, and it is still environmentally friendly, with an 86% Environmental Protection Agency rating,” Murphy says.
Morsø is continuing to promote the movement toward sleek styling in stoves. “We’ve concentrated most of our forward movement on increasing the modern portrait type of stove,” Shankster explains.
Danish artist Monica Ritterband designed Morsø’s latest entry into the market, its 7600 series. Shankster’s goal was to offer a product with a 180-degree window; he came close, with a 150-degree window. “We managed to secure some high-impact publicity through consumer magazines. Home-interest magazines really don’t feature stoves, but this caught their eyes, and we’re benefiting. There’s interest out there. The big difficulty, for me, is that I need to persuade the old-school stove retailers that they really need to sharpen their pencils. If they don’t embrace this, they’ll miss one heck of an emerging market,” Shankster says.
The Future
For the near term, manufacturers are optimistic. “At retail, the volume has gone down, but we’re not reflecting that trend, so I can only assume that people at the top end of the market are still spending,” Shankster notes. “Dealers who have embraced the high-end section of the market have to work hard for it—it isn’t a given—but people who want a quality product still, inevitably, have the money to spend.” Shankster adds that while the summer was particularly quiet, he started to see sales trends head upward in August.
“I’d like to think the economy is moving forward,” Shankster says. “The general consensus is that it will be a good wood-burning year, but it’s hard to get enthusiasm down to a fixed rationale.”
Thomas says, “I see wood stoves leading the pack. The jury is still out on pellet stoves because the cost of pellet fuel went up, and because of the maintenance involved. Wood is a more stable type of product. People have access to wood, and it is more of a romance product; there’s a retro aspect to wood, and it is making a comeback. You won’t heat the whole house with it, but there is a desire to get back to wood burning again—not to offset the cost of fuel, but for the need to see that fire again.”
Forman agrees, saying, “I think stoves are growing in popularity because they not only offer efficient and effective ways to heat a home, but are also available in more and more aesthetically pleasing designs. Today, you can find pellet, wood, and gas stoves that will fit into virtually any decor, from the workshop to the most modern of interiors. Stoves are not just for the basement anymore; they can go anywhere.”
Overall, manufacturers are cautiously optimistic about the market. “I’m already seeing signs of people reacting,” Murphy says. “There are definite signs that there is growth out there. Will it get back to previous levels? I don’t know—maybe next year.”
PHPR November/December 2009
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