GfK: Romania’s durable goods market drops 2.5 percent in Q2, to EUR 293 mln

Newsroom 16/08/2012 | 12:51

Romania’s durable consumer goods market has remained on a downward trend for a second consecutive quarter, posting a 2.5 percent drop in Q2 against Q2 2011, and totaling EUR 293 million, according to a GfK Romania survey.

The only segment which reported a two-digit growth in Q2 was that photo cameras which increased by 19.2 percent. The consumer electronics and telecommunications segments posted slight increase rates, while IT and office equipment declined. The largest decrease were recorded for small domestic appliances and major domestic appliances, the latter showing a double digit-decrease, says GfK.

Compared to the same quarter of the previous year sales of photographic products grew by 19 percent this summer. Sales of digital cameras and image displays reached EUR 12 million in Q2 2012.

“At the moment cameras with changeable lenses represent the most successful segment growing at double digits. Market value reached approximately EUR 5 million in the last three months,” say Gfk representatives.

In the second quarter of 2012, sales of consumer electronics went up by approximately 3 percent to reach a total of EUR 58 million. A significant sales increase was also recorded for the main driver of the CE market – flat TV sets. The double digit growth rates for panel TVs were sustained by market promotions, especially in the light of specific events, such as the European Football Championship.

The total market of mobile phones and smartphones recorded a slight increase of 0.7 percent, amounting to EUR 43 million compared to the same period of 2011. Smartphones sales further grew and also managed to bring growth on the Telecom sector.

The second quarter of 2012 brought stagnation for the IT sector. Compared to the same period of last year, the sector went down by 2 percent reaching a value of EUR 84 million.

The office equipment and consumables segment remained stable in Q2 2012 at around EUR 7 million, recording a slight decrease of 2.9 percent compared with the same period of last year.

The unstable political environment combined with the recession in many Eurozone countries contributed to a slowdown of the Romanian economy which has been felt considerably in the small domestic appliances market, says GfK. Following a 9 percent decrease in the second quarter of the year, this segment’s value amounted to EUR 22.3 million versus 24.5 million in Q2 2011.

The major domestic appliances segment increased in value by EUR 10 million in Q2 2012 against Q1 2012 but 10 percent smaller below in Q2 2011. “This is still the second largest market in the technical consumer goods category. It is important to point out the exchange rate’s high impact; while in EUR the sector decreased by 10% with all categories shrinking, in RON the decline was only 3 percent, categories such as ovens, dishwashers, freezers and hobs even showed an increase,” says GfK.

Simona Bazavan

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