RSS
Trade: Sales of durable goods grow by 8% in first three months
Sales of durable goods grew by 8% in the first three months compared to the same period of 2013, to 386 million euro. It was the best period in the last four years, with the biggest sales in the telecommunication segment but with the most serious drop in the photo section, according to GfK.
“The biggest increase in value (about 33%) was generated by the Telecommunication sector which reached 117 million euro. Electronic equipment and household appliances also had a good start this year, recording positive increase rates compared to last year. Photo equipment, IT and printers, multifunctional equipment and consumables and the only markets that recorded drops compared to quarter 1, 2013, the biggest being in the photo market (about -40%),” according to the GfK study TEMAX for Romania.
The smart phone segment continued to register considerable two-figure growths, while classical mobile phones are losing ground. The products which have considerably contributed to the increase of the telecommunications market are those allowing 3G and 4G connections, those which include a camera of at least 5 MP and have large screen dimensions (more than 4 inches). Phablets continue the effort to attract customers’ attention, shows the source mentioned above.
The market of large household appliances went up by 11% in the first quarter, compared to the similar period of 2013, to 65 million euro, supported by sales of refrigerators, freezers and washing machines. No frost refrigerators and front door washing machines of 7 kg were the main products which generated value in the two markets.
Sales of small household appliances registered a 7.9% growth to 26 million euro. According to the study, trimming and shaving equipment generated a positive evolution in the personal care segment. A good performance was also recorded by fruit juicers and irons.
The first quarter of the year brought a 4% growth in the electronic segment to 61 million euro. Both flat screen TV sets and game consoles had a good evolution compared to the same period of 2013.
Although many sectors in the electronic category had a decline, the ones recording increases - such as large diagonal TV sets, soundbar systems - are offering good prospects for 2014, GfK shows.
For the IT sector, the first quarter brought a drop of 6% compared to 2013, which means 97 million euro. The most important drop was in the portable computer market, followed by those for desktop PCs, mouse and web cams. In the portable computer category only computing tablets and desktop replacements had increases, but their share within the category is rather small.
Sales of printers, multifunctionals and consumables recorded a drop of 8% in the analysed period, to 14 million euro. All categories registered drops, the most significant being for the hardware inkjet segment. Smaller drops of laser hardware and consumable categories slightly reduced the effect of the inkjet segment, the whole sector experiencing difficulties.
The photo market continued to drop, maintaining the 2013 tendency, reaching a total value of 5 million euro in the first quarter, which was 40% lower than in the same period of 2013. Both compact photo cameras and D-SRL recorded dropping rates, being the first serious decline of D-SRL equipment.