“We’re uncertain about the future, August got us thinking. This is why I’ll make no predictions about the fourth quarter. I had upbeat estimates, but now I’ll wait for September to pass to see how to reassess budgets for the fourth quarter.”
Szarvadi’s decision comes after the first two months of the third quarter had a different performance, with August below expectations. July was much better than the same month of last year, with a strong rebound.
“We saw a 15% sales increase from July 2010, but I must admit last July was the slowest month for us, particularly on the VAT hike”. The trend reversed in August, though not significantly from 2010.
“The number of Romanians working abroad who came to spend their holidays in Romania registered a significant decline this year,” Szarvadi says, explaining the August drop. The last month of the third quarter “will probably be a little better judging from the first week data.” However, Szarvadi admits that Domo, which posted almost EUR180 million in turnover last year, resorted to highly aggressive offers in September.
Several months ago, Domo’s Szarvadi said the company’s industry is seasonal and the second half of the year is better, as a rule.
The electronics and home appliances market, where Domo ranks second by turnover after Altex, was one of the hardest hit by the financial crisis, shrinking by 40% in 2009 and by around 10-15% last year. However, 2011 was the first year of growth for the market.
About the entire 2011, Szarvadi said several months ago that the market would maintain at around EUR1 billion.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu; Editing by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu and Radu Bostan)