Smartphones drive electro-IT sales up in Romania

Romania’s technical consumer goods market (electro-IT) went up by 15.2% in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period of 2015 as Romanians bought more smartphones. The total electro-IT sales reached EUR 521 million, up from EUR 450 million in the first three months of 2015 and EUR 390 million in Q1 2014, according to the GfK TEMAX study. The telecom segment was the market’s growth star in the first quarter. Telecom sales, which include smartphones, went up by a third (32.6%), reaching EUR 181 million. Wide-screen smartphones were the best-selling products in the first three months. The big home appliances segment increased by 26%, reaching EUR 102 million, and the small appliance sales went up by 20%, to EUR 37 million. The only other segment that saw higher sales in the first quarter was electronics, which went up by 12.8%, to EUR 81 million. Wide-screen smart TVs and game consoles were among the top-selling products in this segment. The IT segment, however, posted a 10.5% decline in the first quarter, reaching EUR 98 million. The demand for tablets, notebooks and desktop PCs went down. The printer and photo equipment segments also had lower sales figures. Romania’s technical consumer goods market sees double digit growth in 2015 editor@romania-insider.com