North American Bathroom Newsletter – June 2014

Kohler Unveils Touchless Toilet Technology

Kohler Co. has introduced the new Kohler Touchless toilet technology, which allows users to flush the toilet without making contact by using a sensor instead of the traditional flush lever.

"In a recent study of 800 U.S. consumers, we found that 51% of people surveyed are paranoid about germs in the bathroom. When looking at that same sample group but focusing on moms with children, that number jumps up to 65 percent," said Brian Hedlund, marketing manager of Kohler toilets and bidets.

Full Article

Source: Home Channel News

BRG Reports Now Available

BRG Building Solutions is pleased to announce the publication of 18 of its 2014 Bathroom and Kitchen reports: - 18 Bathroom Reports (USA, Canada, India, Brazil, Mexico,

Saudi Arabia, UAE, and 11 European countries: Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom) are now available covering products such as baths, showers, sanitary ware, faucets, taps & mixers, shower and bath doors, hydrotherapy, shower accessories, kitchen sinks and kitchen faucets. The remaining 28 Bathroom Reports will be published in July

and August 2014, and will cover additional selected countries in South America, the Middle East, Europe and Asia. In a climate of changeable market conditions and drivers, short-term monitoring has become increasingly more essential and relevant. BRG’s market reports provide in-depth analysis and concise commentary on recent market developments. The 2014 market reports will include a detailed market overview, historical trends (2002-2013) and forecasts (2014-2018), prices and market values, end use and product segmentation, distribution and market shares, among others. To obtain our 2014 brochure, or for more detailed information on developments within the bathroom product markets and BRG’s studies, simply reply to this email. You can also visit our website and purchase our 2014 reports online. Source: BRG

Spectrum Brands Has Record Quarter

Small appliances maker Spectrum Brands Holdings reported record fiscal 2014 second quarter results

(ending March 30, 2014).

The company reported net sales of $1.02 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2014, up 3.4% from

$987.8 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2013.

Net income in the quarter was $33.8 million, compared to a net loss of $41.2 million in the second

quarter of fiscal 2013.

Spectrum Brand CEO Dave Lumley said the second quarter of the year is seasonally the company's

smallest quarter. "Combined with our record first quarter, we have solid first half momentum toward

delivering a fifth consecutive year of record financial performance in fiscal 2014," he said.

Full Article

Source: Appliance Magazine

Housing starts rise 13.2% in April

Home building surged in April as warmer weather helped builders break ground on new homes at the fastest pace this year.

Housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.07 million, up from 947,000 in March, the Census Bureau said. Economists had predicted a rate of 980,000, according to the median forecast in Action Economics' survey. The gains came largely from multi-family construction, where starts rose almost 40% from March. Single-family starts were up 0.8% to a annual rate of 649,000.

Full Article Source: USA Today

Why Homeowners Remodel

According to remodelers who answered special questions on National Association of Home Builder’s Remodeling Market Index (RMI) survey for the first quarter of 2014, a simple “desire for better/newer amenities” ranked as the number one reason customers choose to remodel their homes.

“Desire for better/newer amenities” edged out the second place “need to repair/replace old components” by one tenth of a point. Another fairly traditional reason –“desire/need for more space” –came in third.

Full Article

Source: For Residential Pros

At Lowe's, Earnings Outpace Sales

Bad weather for retail dampened sales at Lowe's, but earnings surged well into the double digits for

the first quarter, the company announced Wednesday morning.

Lowe's sales increased 2.4% in the first quarter, rising to $13.4 billion. Comparable-store sales increased 0.9%.

The Mooresville, North Carolina-based retail giant reported a net earnings surge of 15.6% to $624 million for the quarter ended May 2.

Lowe's quarterly earnings report followed by one day the report from Home Depot, which outperformed Lowe's in terms of sales. Lowe's showed the higher percentage gain in net earnings -- 15.6%, compared with Depot's 12.5%.

Full Article

Source: Home Channel News

1.6 million Americans Don’t have Indoor Plumbing. Here’s Where They Live

The Pew Research Center's excellent FactTank blog reported Tuesday that the Census Bureau is considering dropping a number of questions from its American Community Survey. The ACS has been a perennial target of Republican lawmakers, who say that its questions on everything from household

income to commute times constitute an invasion of privacy. Perhaps hoping to stave off some of these concerns, the bureau is reviewing a number of questions, including the one that has been subject to the most ridicule from the right: Housing questions 8a-8c, which cover the plumbing facilities in a household, including the presence (or lack thereof) of a "flush toilet." Setting aside privacy issues for the moment, can such a question possibly have relevancy in the year 2014? Or to put it more bluntly: Who doesn't have a flushing toilet?

Full Article

Source: The Washington Post

Canadian 2014 Housing Forecast: Fewer Starts, Flat Sales

While the economy continues to support new home building activity, in Canada, builders are expected

to continue adjusting their activity in order to manage inventory levels, according to the second quarter

2014 Housing Market Outlook, from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

“Builders are expected to continue to manage their starts activity in order to ensure that demand from

buyers seeking new condominium units is first channeled toward unsold completed units or unsold

units that are currently under construction,” said Mathieu Laberge, Deputy Chief Economist for CMHC.

On an annual basis, housing starts are expected to be in the range of 172,300 to 189,900 units in

2014, with a point forecast of 181,100 units, which is down from 187,923 units in 2013.

Full Article

Source: Appliance Magazine

Around the world in the top 10 toilets: The best places on earth to

spend a penny

When it comes to the Premier Loos League, it seems Wembley can hold

its own, making it onto a list of the top 10 public toilets in the world.

While we may consider a toilet nothing more than a public convenience, design experts have rounded up the 10 best loos from around the globe to form its powder room power list.

The Wembley WC, designed by Gort Scott, made it into sixth place on the list, but the top 10 toilet is not actually in the stadium, it is a simple public toilet on a nearby street.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2612230/The-10-best-toilets-world-spend-penny.html#ixzz33b6thyko

How many bathrooms do you need in a house?

Over on Vox, Danielle Kurtzleben crunches the latest Census data on single family home construction and finds that not only is average house size up again (after a small recession induced dip) but the number of bedrooms is climbing (four is the new three). Most interesting to me is the fact that the number of bathrooms is increasing dramatically, to the point where it is pretty much one per bedroom now. Full Article

Source: Tree Hugger