UK household consumer durables and disposables (including personal grooming and homecare/cleaning products) manufacturing is sensitive to fashion trends, consumer perceptions, price competitiveness and product design creativity and brand strengths. Where these are intimately linked, in fitted furniture for example, companies are better able to control their commercial destinies and secure profitable market share. Where a business produces a me-too product that has commodity status and sells essentially on price, it is highly vulnerable to imports. Labour costs and productivity are inevitably key issues and in many areas of volume produced consumer durables, from Dyson floor cleaning appliances to Royal Doulton china, manufacture in the UK is no longer viable, even with a household brand name with a high value-added profile.