PORT WASHINGTON, NEW YORK, March 15, 2000– NPD HomeTrak, a service of leading marketing information provider The NPD Group, Inc., reports 7% growth in dollar sales for total housewares in 1999 over 1998. The number reflects 1999 year-end data for the home products industries, including cookware, bakeware, dinnerware, flatware and beverageware, sold in the combined mass merchant and department store channels. Housewares grew by the same percentage in 1998.

“Americans want their home environments to be visually pleasing and fun to be in,” said Clark Johnson, vice president of NPD HomeTrak. “The steady growth of the housewares industry is partly a result of the strong economy, but it also reflects our increased focus on the home. We want just the right pan, plate, or glass for any occasion. Manufacturers and retailers are rising to the challenge.”

Thanks in large part to special millennium collections of crystal stemware, beverageware posted the greatest 1999 sales gain among NPD’s housewares categories. Beverageware retailers saw 22% dollar sales growth over 1998 across the channels tracked by NPD HomeTrak and a 12% average selling price increase. As the holidays approached, department stores experienced the beverageware sales jump of the year – an 87% increase in dollar sales over December 1998 for crystal alone. Top crystal brands like Waterford, Cristal d’Arques, Orrefors, Luminarc and Waterford Marquis contributed to the category’s high year-end numbers by offering commemorative millennium crystal stemware.

“We had predicted very strong beverageware sales for the year, and the actual results exceeded our expectations, largely due to consumers’ desire to purchase high-end ‘souvenirs’ commemorating the millennium. Manufacturers capitalized on the New Year’s excitement and will have to develop a new concept if they wish to maintain the sales momentum this year,” Johnson said.

Rangetop cookware, already the largest of NPD’s housewares categories, also posted strong 1999 dollar sales growth. Stainless steel cookware, including both professional-style, premium lines by manufacturers like All-Clad Ltd. and a wide range of offerings at lower price points, grew by 15% in dollars, more than any other cookware variety. The cookware category as a whole grew more slowly, at a 5% rate. Pricing pressures forced the average price of a pot down 4%, to $14.19.

In bakeware, 1999 unit sales were up 15% over 1998; dollar sales increased by 7%. Metal bakeware, the perennial sales leader, surged 10% in dollar sales for the year, while glass bakeware dollar sales were flat. Prices declined for all varieties of bakeware across all channels.

NPD HomeTrak’s dinnerware report reveals an industry taking a breather after years of growth. Sales, registered by NPD at over $835 million, were virtually unchanged from the previous year.

The flatware category ended the year with sales slightly below 1998. Although total flatware piece sales grew by 11%, the average price dropped by the same amount. In a sign of the trend toward casual living, department store dollar sales of sterling silver flatware decreased in 1999 by 19%.

“The real story of the year is the aggressive stance taken by the discount mass retailers in these housewares categories,” observed Johnson. “These retailers are offering higher quality products, with better designs, at very attractive prices. Many of the categories that seemed to show little change for the year actually experienced a shift from department stores to the mass merchants. Department stores still hold the dominant position in many housewares categories, but they may have to work to retain that position.”