Last quarter of 2013, best in five years for consumer goods sales in Romania

In line with the economy growth, the last quarter of 2013 was the best quarter for consumer goods sales in the last five years, according to GfK. A recent study reveals that consumer goods sales were up 11 percent year-on-year in the last quarter of 2013, while the full-year growth was up 7 percent compared to 2012. Most goods reported higher sales, except printers and multifunctionals and the photo equipment market. Romanians bought EUR 169 million worth of telecom products in the fourth quarter of 2013, up 21 percent year-on-year, while small house appliances saw growth of 13 percent. For the whole 2013, some EUR 113 million worth of small household appliances were sold in Romania. Electronic products worth EUR 119 million were sold in the fourth quarter of the year alone, up 8 percent. Most of half of the Q4 sales were recorded in November, which was the best month of the year – it also included the Black Friday sales. Flat screen TV sales were up, while audio, video, games and navigation system sales declined. White goods sold EUR 113 million in the last quarter of 2013, with washing machines, dryers and dishwashers registering double digit growth during the period. For the entire 2013, white goods worth EUR 337 million were sold in Romania, which was 5 percent above the 2012 level. The IT&C market saw an increase of 7.6 percent in the fourth quarter of the year, to some EUR 163 million. Tablet sales were up almost 40 percent, and keyboards, up 28 percent. For the whole 2013, IT products worth EUR 455 million were sold in Romania. editor@romania-insider.com