“We expect the electronics and IT market in Romania and Bulgaria to increase by 8% to 10% in the next three years, the highest growth in the Central and South-Eastern Europe. The estimate is based on the increase in the technology penetration rate,” said Sony Romania’s boss. “The market in Hungary, for instance, reached maturity, which is why the growth expected is not that high. On the other hand, Romanians are still discovering technology and are not at the product replacement stage. We arrived at these estimates together with a consultant. In comparison, the market in Hungary is forecast to grow by no more than 3% in the next three years.”
Radulescu added Romania and Bulgaria remained the most interesting markets in the region because of the high growth rate and customers willing to pay more for products.
Brand sells products in Romania, he said, and customers are willing to pay extra for higher quality, which means many growth opportunities for Sony.
Asked whether Sony considers cutting prices of premium products, Lucian Radulescu said sales in the category would be influenced by the access to cheaper loans rather than anything else.
The new Sony Romania country head, appointed to this position a few months ago, says he plans to change his company’s approach of the market. “I want to promote Romania as a very attractive market to Sony. I’ve got to bring resources into the country. We’re changing the local approach in order to grow. If we keep repeating what we’ve done so far, we’ll get the same results.”
Only the companies that “know how to change” will stay on the market in the future, Radulescu said. “One of the things Sony Romania’s strategy will focus on is young people and women.”
Sony Romania’s country head says tablets will play an important role in the change the company will make, as sales on this segment will triple compared with 2011 to 120,000 units.
That is because the tablet market is underdeveloped in Romania, which means there is room for everybody, including the premium range, he explained. “I expect to see 60,000 to 70,000 premium tablets sold this year.” The market will grow naturally in the next three years and will not surge as it did this year, he added.
Sony launched the new Xperia S tablet on the local market last week. The tablet is included in the premium product range, carrying a price tag of more than 1,800 lei (EUR400). The company set out to attain a 20% share of the premium tablet market where its rivals are Apple, Asus and Samsung.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)