Photo by Harprit Bola on Unsplash
The Gulf’s interior design market has surged in value, and is now worth almost US$18 Bn, making it one of the Gulf’s fastest-growing industries.
The industry has grown in value by more than US$2.2 Bn in the last 12 months to US$17.7bn this year despite oil price fluctuations, a Ventures study found.
The steep rise is attributed to innovation and what experts describe as “ever-changing personal preferences”.
A Ventures spokesperson said, “Contractors in the GCC should consider themselves fortunate to be positioned in a region that is still very active compared to many other parts of the world despite low oil prices.
“With the current slowdown in the market and the fast-approaching dates for Expo 2020 and FIFA World Cup 2022, developers and consultants are bound to turn their attention towards providing high quality refurbishments to their existing projects, in turn fueling the demand for interiors and fit-out contractors. The value of projects in the construction and interiors pipeline is four times the value of projects completed in the past 10 years.”
The report was commissioned exclusively by INDEX, the Middle East’s largest trade event for interior design.
Samantha Kane-Macdonald, event director at INDEX, said, “In the face of global economic challenges, the pioneering endeavour and ambition of designers, architects and construction professionals based throughout the Gulf continues to not only persevere, but conceive, invent and drive the future of design.
INDEX, the Middle East’s largest trade event for interior design, brings the regions designers, architects and builders together
“The region will play host to some of the world’s biggest events over the next decade, and the construction and redevelopment process for each of those is already well underway, across all sectors; hospitality, commercial real estate, retail, health and hospitals, and education. It’s hugely exciting.”
According to the report, the interiors industry is valued at its highest within the building sector, where its annual worth is $9.2 Bn – up almost $1 Bn on last year. The commercial real estate ($1.1 Bn), hotel ($2.1 Bn), retail ($1.2 Bn), hospital ($667 Mn) and education ($452 Mn) sectors have all increased interiors investment since 2016. The residential sector remained buoyant with an annual value of more than $3 Bn.
Individual interior product industries are also experiencing profitable growth. The lighting fixtures market is booming, with the region’s lighting systems market predicted to be worth $3.5bn by 2020. Textile imports and exports are valued at $3 Bn a year, with furniture and fittings recording similar figures.
