“Sales were good in the fourth quarter, about 10% higher year-on-year,” Iftemie said. (…) The traditional distribution channel is losing market share to new channels, especially online ones. As far as product lines are concerned, we recorded rises on notebooks, ultrabooks and a significant advance on tablets,” the manager said. He added that Acer recorded a decline on netbooks and monitors.
A big share of the company’s turnover in the last quarter of 2012 was generated by the Black Friday shopping event, during which several retailers, manufacturers and distributors offered discounts.
“Black Friday had a significant contribution to the overall figure in the fourth quarter and gained more footing in the public perception,” Iftemie said.
This was the second year when the Black Friday event was organized in Romania.
The impact of the Black Friday event was so big that it even affected December sales, which had traditionally been the year’s best.
“We grew in the fourth quarter, but clearly Black Friday took quite a lot of money out of the market. For many of our partners, both distributors and retailers, December was weaker than November. The lesson is you cannot force the market too much.”
2012, when around 500,000 laptops were sold in Romania, was a good year for Acer. The company’s sales rose about 10%, similarly to the fourth quarter, said the company’s sales manager.
“Overall 2012 was ok, we grew by around 10% against 2011. The consumer segment went well, while public sector sales were weaker. Expectations for 2013 are reserved amid the difficult economic context both in Romania and internationally.”
(English version by Daniela Stoican)