After global lockdowns began, sauna stove sales surged a staggering 221%
There’s now occasional shortages of sauna stones.
The iconic sauna stove maker HUUM has revealed a staggering surge in sales as more people around the world invest in home saunas this year.
In the first four months of 2020, HUUM sauna stove sales increased by 68% compared to the previous year, which is mostly made up of exports from Estonia to Europe and the UK. In March though, as the full scale of the crisis became clearer, sales surged to 221% compared to the same period last year.
This is consistent with reports from other manufacturers in the sauna industry. Iglucraft, for example, which famously once sold a sauna to David Beckham, reported that in March alone they sold 60% of the total saunas that they sold in the whole of last year (link in Estonian).
This defies the overall trend for cross-border exports. Statistics Estonia today revealed that overall exports from Estonia in March are sadly down 1% on last year.
As part of the March sauna surge, there was also a disproportionate growth in demand for wood-burning sauna stoves compared to usual.
British entrepreneur Chris Davies recently received his wood-burning HUUM sauna stove after ordering through our own online shop at EstonianSaunas.com. He explains: “During the coronavirus crisis, we have a bit more time on our hands and preserving our health, both mentally and physically, is more important than ever. So we decided to start building our own sauna.”
Electric sauna heaters are still top sellers though, especially now that HUUM has launched two new slim heater models designed for apartments and also integrated WiFi so electric heaters can be controlled by a mobile app.
Production of these sauna stoves requires skilled metal work, which already takes place in relative isolation so this can continue safely during social distancing. In addition, goods are moving relatively smoothly across borders despite restrictions on the movement of people.
Anni Oviir, who runs EstonianSaunas.com where some of those HUUM sauna stoves have been ordered, says: “We were previously focused primarily on sauna tourism to Estonia, but are now invested more heavily into supporting exports so people can enjoy great saunas without leaving their homes.”
“There is now a clear trend towards more home sauna building across Europe and the UK. For too long, people thought the sauna is a luxury experience you can only get by visiting a spa, but home saunas are already normal in our part of Europe and they becoming the new normal elsewhere too. British celebrities like David Beckham helped popularise home saunas in places like the UK, but this trend has accelerated this year as people spend more time at home and think more about their health. In March, a lot of people suddenly brought forward their home renovation projects but we think the trend towards home saunas will keep increasing, especially when people see online what their neighbours have built and realise they can do it too.”
To visualise that long term trend towards home saunas, here’s what the Google data shows based on search results for ‘home sauna’ worldwide over the past year.
Estonia suffered an early outbreak of coronavirus, mostly centred on the island of Saaremaa, which was dubbed ‘corona island’ in a BBC report seen around the world. As we’ve previously written elsewhere though, the recovery is well underway and locals are determined to change the narrative. New cases of coronavirus across Estonia have now declined sharply and all three Baltic States are planning to reopen their borders to each other this week, creating the first post-corona travel zone.
Sauna stone shortage
The main issue now, according to HUUM, is simply an occasional shortage of sauna stones.
Helena Helendi, Marketing Manager at HUUM, says: “Heated stones are the most important design element of a sauna so they must be selected carefully. We prefer a subvolcanic rock known as olivine dolerite, which are rounded and polished after collection to provide the optimal heat and steam. There are now occasional delays getting hold of enough stones to keep up with orders, but we are looking at different ways to get more of these stones collected and processed faster.
“We simply can’t compromise on the quality of leil, which is the Estonian word for sauna steam, and for that we need the right stones.”
Thanks for reading
This Estonian Saunas blog is run by Anni and Adam.
We export Estonian sauna design and technology — including HUUM sauna stoves — at EstonianSaunas.com (and into the UK at EstonianSaunas.co.uk).
You can follow our own adventures exploring Estonian sauna culture and helping fill the world with more saunas on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. We also have a Facebook group for Sauna explorers / Sauna avastajad.
You can also contact us at tere@estoniansaunas.com.
