They are also looking for more expensive products to compensate for how much time they have to spend in their homes.
Actors on this market had initially expected a decline in sales from 12% – 15% to 30% – 50% at first, but now data show growth, because of the very high appetite for electronics and home appliances.
“Everyone is optimistic in our industry. People are no longer going on vacation, so the money goes somewhere else. There is also money left from fashion spending, even though online sales are up, overall, I don’t think that industry is in the black,” says Dragos Sirbu, CEO of the computer and electronics retailer Flanco, the second largest actor on its market.
“The money is therefore used in the home, which is an advantage for us, computer and electronics retailers and furniture retailers.”
The pandemic highlighted the appetite for certain product categories, as the best-selling products this year are phones, laptops, tablets, and various home appliances, which meet the needs of the customers under the new circumstances, Dan Ostahie, owner and CEO of Altex Romania, leader of the computer and electronics retail market in Romania.
“Altex Romania is a business that grew together with the Romanian market and now we’re talking about market growth and maturity. This year we have this prospect of reaching a billion euros,” Dan Ostahie said.
Ragip Balcioglu, CCO of Arcelik Group, owner of the manufacturer Arctic, says that Romania is following the overall trend during pandemic. Arcelik and its brands did very well in Europe this year.
March came with a 10% decline and April was a disaster for the entire manufacturing sector, while retail stopped. The decline ranged from 30% to 50% depending on the country. Things really changed for the home appliances business in mid May.
Growth has been 15% to 20% in Europe and 10% to 15% in Romania since June.
The reason behind this trend is that people are staying home and investing in such hobbies as cooking and in comfort, the executive added.
A surprising thing is that during the previous crisis, in 2009-2010, sales not only halved in two years, but people started buying the cheapest products they could find and sought private labels. Things are exactly the other way around now.
“We are too poor to buy cheap, so people are looking at medium or high-end product ranges (…), Flanco’s CEO added.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)