The marble market - France (2023)

1.2 Sustained global market growth

The marble market is estimated to exceed ** billion USD by ****, registering a CAGR of around *.*%, over the forecast period (***).

Marble market size World, ****-****, in billions of euros Source: ****

Global trade:

China is the world's leading customer, with **% of global marble imports by value, while Turkey is the world's leading marble supplier, with **% of total exports.

Main marble exporting countries, by value World, ****, in Source: ****

Main marble importing countries, by value World, ****, in Source: ****

1.3 The European market: the Italian giant

At European level, Italy is an extremely important player ; it is one of the countries that produces the most marble. The Prodcom codes listing the products studied and referred to in the following charts are : ******** Dimension and building stone and articles thereof: marble, travertine, alabaster (***) ******** and ******** Marble and travertine, crude or roughly cut, without form, merely cut into slabs or blocks ******** Marble granules, chips and powder The following two figures show that Italy is by far the biggest producer of cut stone, with **% of European output (***).

Breakdown of production by value of dimension stone, including marble Europe, ****, % (***) Source : Eurostat Breakdown of marble and travertine production by value Europe, ****, % (***) Source: ****

As for the last product mentioned, marble granules, flakes and powders, Austria leads European production, as shown in the graph below: it produces almost a third of the total (***), followed by Italy and Germany.

Breakdown of marble granules, flakes and powder production by value Europe, ****, % (***) Source: ****

1.4 French market in decline

Production

Every year, the French ornamental and construction rock industry association (***) publishes figures for the sector two years late. We have therefore summarized the data available in **** in this section, i.e. those for ****.

In ****, *** companies were active in the natural stone sector. Just over a decade later, there are just *** in ****. They generated total sales of €*** million in ****. [***]

Marble accounted for around ***.* million euros in finished products (***) in **** .

Size of the "Building Stone" industry France, ****-****, millions of euros Source: ****

Finished products

For stone cutting, shaping and finishing companies (***), total sales should reach ****.* million euros in ****. [***]

Size of the "Stone cutting, shaping and finishing" market France, ****-****, in millions of euros Source: ****

1.5 Foreign trade

French marble trade balance France, ****-****, in thousands of euros and as a % of sales A COMTRADE

France's coverage rate has remained very stable in recent years (***). Since ****, there has been a recovery in international trade, which had fallen slightly.

france's main trading partners for marble exports France, ****, in thousands of dollars A COMTRADE

The vast majority of France's exports go to Germany, Italy and Switzerland.

france's main trading partners for marble imports France, ****, in thousands of dollars A COMTRADE

The main trading partner is Italy, with almost * million imports in ****, twice as many as India, the second-largest import partner.

2.1 The different uses of marble

In a publication provided by Intracen (***) about the marble market worldwide, we can find different types of uses for this rock:

In the context of the global marble market, this natural rock is used in a variety of industries and applications due to its unique aesthetic and physical characteristics.

Construction : Marble has been a prized building material since antiquity, due to its durability and beauty. It is used to create flooring, building facades, columns, staircases, slabs and much more. Its wide range of colors and textures makes it a versatile choice for a variety of architectural projects. Sculpture: Marble is also famous for its ability to be carved with precision. Sculptors around the world create impressive works of art using this stone, from figurative sculpture to abstract pieces. Interior design: Marble is commonly used in interior design to create kitchen countertops, bathroom worktops, fireplaces, floors, tables and even decorative elements such as vases and sculptures to add a touch of elegance and sophistication to a space. Craftsmanship : Marble is used by artisans to create a variety of handcrafted items, including jewelry, figurines, boxes, trays and home décor objects. Its unique texture and color variations make it a popular material for ...

2.2 Construction and buildings

New construction market

In ****, against a backdrop of recovery from the health crisis, spending on housing by all economic agents will pick up sharply (***) to €*** billion.

This increase is mainly due to a rebound in housing investment, while growth in current expenditure is accelerating. Real estate activity, at *** billion euros, returned to a period of growth.

This rebound was driven by purchases of existing properties, renovation and maintenance work, and the upturn in new-build investment

Number of housing units authorized and started France, ****-****, in thousands of units Source: ****

In ****, ***,*** housing units were authorized for construction, **,*** more than in **** (***).

2.3 Interior design and decoration

By ****, the decoration and furnishings market will be worth almost ** billion euros in France, divided almost equally between furnishings and interior decoration, which will be worth **.** billion and **.* billion euros respectively.[***]. A specific Businesscoot study dedicated to the French furniture market is available here.

The interior decoration sector is divided between floor and wall coverings (***).

Breakdown of interior decoration market size by product type France, ****, in % of value Source: ****

The interior design market is also closely correlated with French people's intentions to renovate. **% carried out work during the first confinement, mainly on their own or with the help of relatives. According to an Opinion Way/Little Workersurvey, **% even planned to carry out renovation work after the first deconfinement, for an average budget of over *,*** euros

**% of French people prefer the contemporary style (***). As for the **-** age group, they prefer design by far.Les Echos

2.4 State of the funeral market in France

In France, around ***,*** people die every year. According to PropulsebyCA, the funeral market generated *.* billion euros in ****, and comprises some *,*** SMEs, **% of which have fewer than ** employees. The funeral market in France is essentially made up of national players, with relatively strong local roots.

Number of deaths France, **** - ****, in thousands Source: ****

Demand for funeral services has risen sharply in ****, **** and **** due to the increase in the number of deaths. However, the restrictions applied to the organization of funerals during the health crisis (***). Against this backdrop, the sector has forecast sales growth in value terms of *% in **** and *% in ****.

By ****, INSEE predicts that there will be at least ***,*** deaths.

Yet this market is threatened by major changes in the way we think about death.

The desacralization of death is accompanied by a reduction in average expenditure per death, and the funeral services sector is now dependent on the changing purchasing power of the general public.this has led to a decline in average expenditure per death, and the funeral services sector is now dependent on changes in customer purchasing power (***).

The development of cremation (***) has led to a decline in the value of the funeral market. However, the development of additional ...

2.5 Marble, timeless chic and refinement

Although often perceived as cold and sometimes austere, marble has established itself as a major trend in interior design over the last few years. It has evolved into a timeless classic, as highlighted by the specialist magazine Marie Claire Maison. This noble material embodies luxury and refinement, combining sobriety and minimalism, while dusting off its once old-fashioned image and breaking established codes.

The chromatic qualities of marble, with its infinite variety of colors, enable it to blend harmoniously into many living rooms and kitchens adopting a style that is both minimalist and chic.

What's more, marble is just as popular with lovers of affordable decorating, as Elle magazine reports, as it is with interior design enthusiasts. It remains a must-have for coffee tables, bringing a touch of elegance to a variety of spaces.

In this way, marble has transcended its initial character to become a versatile decorative element, combining modernity and timelessness in an infinite range of shades, helping to enhance the aesthetics of contemporary interiors.

3.1 Organization of the marble industry

The activities of the marble industry can be summarized as follows:

3.2 Extraction and transportation of marble

The quarrying, transporting, sawing and working of marble has remained virtually unchanged for over two millennia[***]. in part to the generally difficult access conditions to quarries, the impassable roads in the mountains and the sheer volume and mass of the materials involved. Only the use of dynamite really accelerated extraction techniques.

Today, modern extraction and cutting machines enable large volumes to be mined, in blocks weighing several tonnes. The density of marble varies between *,*** and *,*** kg.m-*. The blocks are often sawn using a diamond saw. [***]

Marble extraction in France

For the year ****, the UNICEM **** report states the following production figures:

Source: ****

Cartography of quarries

Carrara marble, surely one of the most famous for its color and purity, is quarried in Italy, between La Spezia and Pisa. [***]

Regional ornamental rock production France, ****, in numbers and millions of euros Source: ****

3.3 Sawing and processing of marble and limestone

Sawing

The blocks of marble thus extracted from the quarries are then sawn into slabs of varying thickness. UNICEM defines one category for slabs less than * cm thick, and another for slabs equal to or greater than * cm. The unit of account at this stage is the square meter. [***]

source: UNICEM Rapport ****

Sawn slab production has contracted by **.*% since **** in terms of volume, but grew by **% from **** to **** before declining in ****.

sawn slab production in m² France, ****-****, base *** in **** Source: ****

Transformation

The last stage before delivery and sale to the end customer, marble slabs are transformed and adapted to their intended use. Based on statistics from the Union nationale des industries de carrières et matériaux de construction (***), the following activities can be distinguished, summarized in the table below:

Source: ****

Horizontal cladding products are therefore the main outlet for marble.

According to UNICEM,total sales in **** for extraction, sawing and processing activities in the "Limestone and Marble" sector amount to ***.* million euros , including ** million euros in exports.

3.4 Marble's place among construction rocks

If we compare marble, in particular building marble, with other building stones in the French industrial panorama in ****, we note that it represents only **.*% of the building stone sector. The largest market is that for granite or similar rocks, which accounts for **.*% of the industry.

Source: ****

In ****, the French building stone market displays significant diversity, with granite and similar rocks topping the list, accounting for a predominant **.*% share of total industry sales, or ***.* million euros. By comparison, building marble, including specialized marbleware, contributes **.* million euros, equivalent to **.*% of the building stone industry. These figures underline the preference for granite in the French construction sector in ****. Although building marble is a notable component of the industry, it represents a more modest share of the market, highlighting the variety of materials used in construction in France.

3.5 Distribution and the trend towards e-commerce

The International Trade Centre' s report on the marble and granite business sectors in **** isolates e-commerce among the trends and growth drivers for these industries.

Major traditional natural stone countries such as Italy and China have found it convenient to open up this new sales channel, selling their tiles, mosaics and natural stone products online. This is mainly due to the increase in consumer choice when shopping online, in terms of the quality, shape and color of different types of stone.

Recognizing this opportunity, a growing number of e-commerce services specializing in natural stone sales have been launched. These online intermediaries offer special care in the transportation of heavy and/or delicate marble and granite products. Many interior design retailers have also begun offering marble and granite products on their own online marketplaces.

These include FGM, for France Granit et Marbre, now an online wholesaler, as well as Marbre Import and Pierres à la mesure.

The introduction of e-commerce in the marble and granite sectors in **** has opened up new growth prospects. Traditional natural stone countries, such as Italy and China, have seized this opportunity by selling their stone products online, offering consumers a wider choice in terms of stone quality, shape ...

4.1 The different types of marble

It's virtually impossible to list all the different varieties of marble, as their chromatic nuances and purity vary so widely. As long ago as ****, at the time of France's first Universal Exhibition (***), a catalog of marbles was launched in a Traité de Minéralogie written by Armand Dufrénoy of the Académie des Sciences.

We can, however, sort the infinite number of marble stones by country, citing the most famous quarries worldwide:

Greece

The island of Thassos is particularly famous for its white marble (***)

Italy

Italy is perhaps the country richest in marble varieties. In Sicily, Tuscany (***), Venice, the Genoese coast, Elba and many other places, you'll find an immense variety of marbles: white, black, yellow, green, red...

In France

Although not as famous as Italian marble, French quarries extract different varieties of marble, from Nord-Pas-de-Calais to the Pyrenees. There are at least ** French departments with marble quarries.

Elsewhere

In China, marble quarries are becoming increasingly important, as is the case with marble from the Guangxi region.

In Spain and Portugal, important quarries and varieties of marble are also prized, such as that from Granada, Cordoba or Lisbon.

Marble is also found in Belgium, the UK, Germany, Ireland, Russia and ...

4.2 Cost structures

Extraction / Quarries

The costs of a marble quarry can be broken down as follows[***] :

Cost of labor Cost of thermal energy, electricity and water Cost of road, rail and sea transport Cost of equipment, blades, disks, abrasives, etc.

For marble quarrying machines, the studenttrum.nl website gives an overview of prices depending on the machine required, which depends mainly on the following parameters:

Type of product required Tonnage to be extracted Rocks to be extracted

Processing plants

The following figures are given for an actual marble processing plant in Morocco, and should be treated with caution. However, they can give an idea of the distribution of costs within a marble or building stone quarry.

Source: ****

4.3 Price range

Import/export prices

Using French customs data for ****, this time for the unit values (***) of the various marble products, we note that marble granules are relatively affordable, while dimension stones exceed €*** per ton on the export market.

It is also interesting to note that export prices are generally higher than import prices for high value-added finished products, while they are lower for all other products (***).

The graph below shows the ratio between average export and import prices in ****.

Ratio of average export prices to average import prices for marble products, France, ****, ratio Source: ****

5.1 INSEE and French Customs classifications

*-digit Combined Nomenclature (***)

The website data.gouv.fr states: " This nomenclature used by French customs is common to all European Union (***) member states and is used for :

Customs declarations for trade with EU countries Declarations of trade in goods between EU countries Presenting foreign trade statistics

The CN* is an extension of the Harmonized System (***), an international nomenclature, and comprises just under **,*** headings.

This study provides foreign trade statistics based on the following codes:

********: Marble and travertine, rough or roughly trimmed; ********: Marble and travertine, simpl. Cut, by sawing or otherwise, into blocks or slabs of square or rectangular shape; ********: Granules, splinters of marble powders, whether or not heat-treated; ********: Marble, travertine and alabaster, articles of these stones, simply cut or sawn and with a flat or even surface; ********: Marble, travertine and alabaster, in any form (***).

Statistical nomenclature of economic activities in the European Community (***)

The website ec.europa.eu states: "The Nomenclature statistique des activités économiques dans la Communauté européenne, or NACE, is the classification of economic activities used in the European Union (***). There have been several versions since ****.

It is a four-digit nomenclature used for the collection and production of a wide range of statistical data relating to ...

5.2 Quarry legislation

Mines and quarries are legal concepts defined by article L***-* of the French Mining Code. [***]

Firstly, quarries are legally Classified Installations (***). They are therefore subject to the legislation set out in the French Environment Code

In addition to the texts concerning classified installations, a "Quarries" section exists in the Environmental Code. Decrees L***-* and R***-* et seq. set out these regulations in the following terms.

Quarries, in particular limestone and marble quarries, are listed under heading **** "Exploitation de carrières" in the ICPE nomenclature.

Finally, a decree of the European directive on quarries lays down the conditions for setting up quarries in the environment and limiting their risks and nuisances. In terms of the environment, this decree specifies extraction bans. Article ** stipulates that extraction in the direct vicinity of watercourses is prohibited. Furthermore, quarrying must not interfere with surface water flow or increase flooding.

Regional quarry plans

Departmental quarry plans were modified by the law ALUR law of March ****with the aim of having them managed by the regions from January*, **** (***). Regional prefects, supported by a steering committee made up of representatives of the State, will draw up the procedures for implementing the regional plans. made up of ...

5.3 European technical standards

A highly standardized technical activity

The European Union is increasingly defining specific standards for testing natural stone and marble. [***]

Standard EN **** indicates the mass, in kg, of am* of material. The results provide an indication of the degree of compactness and porosity of a natural stone; Standard EN *** specifies the percentage of total volume (***) constituted by pores; Standard EN **** donsists of compressive strength, expressed in N/mm*. Essential when marble is used as a load-bearing element; Standard EN ***** determines flexural strength in N/mm*. Knowledge of this standard is important when using stone in open-air staircases or when parts are left cantilevered; Standard EN ***** involves subjecting specimens to direct freeze-thaw cycles, and checking visually, and by means of a modulus of elasticity measurement, whether the material is frost-resistant; Standard EN ***** specifies the notion of slipperiness, a characteristic that changes over time with wear and maintenance.

6.1 Segmentation

• Provencale
• Société d’Exploitation de Carrières
• SETP (Comblanchien)
• Vinci Groupe
• Bouygues Groupe
• Eiffage Groupe
• Levantina
• Polycor
• Omya
• Heidelberg Cement
• Générale du Granit
• Perocheau
• Techni Marbre
• Real Marbre
• Marbrerie Milesi
• Marbrerie d’Aquitaine
• Marbrerie de la Crau
• Marbrerie Domenech Frères
• Marbrerie Bergez Retegui
• Marbrerie Alfredo Peixeiro
• Marbrerie Anastay
• Décomarbre
• Marbreries de l’Emperador
• PMC Marbreries
• Marbreries de la Seine
• Ikea
• Art du Marbre Concept
• Atecma
• Blanc Carrare
• Concept Stone
• Ringot & Villarecci