Electro-IT sales, up by 15% in Romania in the first quarter

Demand for domestic appliances, communication devices and consumer electronics strongly increased in the first three months of this year, pushing electro-It sales up. The Romanian Technical Consumer goods market went up by 15% in the first quarter of 2015 compared to the same period of last year, to about EUR 445 million, according to the recent Gfk TEMAX Romania survey released by market research company Gfk. The substantial market evolution in the first quarter continues that of last year, when sales went up by 13.7%, to over EUR 2 billion. Sales of major domestic appliances increased by 21%, to EUR 80 million while small appliances went up by 19%, to EUR 31 million, with all product categories seeing double digit increases. The telecoms market also rose by 17%, to EUR 135 million. Smartphones continued to be the main growth engine. Consumer electronics sales increased by 15%, to EUR 72 million. The highest growth categories were Smart TVs and UHD TVs. The printers market also went up by 11%, to EUR 15 million, while the IT equipment market grew by 8%, above expectations, to EUR 107 million. The photo equipment segment was the only one that declined, by almost 5%, to EUR 2.7 million. Altex, Flanco and Domo are the largest traditional electro-IT retailers in Romania while eMAG is the biggest online retailer. editor@romania-insider.com