In Q2 2013, the largest sector was the Telecommunication (Telco) sector, with a total value of €99 million, and it was also the one to generate the most important increase of value, 17%, when compared to Q2 2012. Another notable growth was the one registered by the MDA sector, 4.9% over the same quarter of the last year in terms of value, the first quarter of increase for the sector since 2011. The Photo market which showed a double-digit decrease (-25.5%) along with the Office Equipment (-8.8%) and CE (-5.2%) were the only sectors to record negative growth rates.
Telecommunications: The smartphone segment continues its positive trend
The second quarter of 2013 brought growth for the Telco sector of about 17% compared to the same period of the previous year, the non-subsidized value being estimated at around €99 million.
The smartphone segment was the main driver, while the feature phones market continued to decline.
Small Domestic Appliances: The SDA sector continues on a positive trend
The total sales value of the Small Domestic Appliances categories reached €24 million in Q2 2013, 8.7% above Q2 2012. This positive performance is also reflected in the half year sales, which show a growth rate of 4.7% compared to the same period of the previous year.
Regarding the most important SDA market, vacuum cleaners, both the bagged and bagless types, showed double digit increase rates compared to Q2 2012. Within the shavers category, the main segment, epilators, showed a flat evolution, while the lady laser/IPL segment significantly increased.
The double digit increase rates registered for the hand mixers, hand blenders, liquidizers categories and kitchen machines, brought about a positive performance for food preparation.
Remarkable is the performance of the hot beverage maker’s category, which saw all the important segments, such as the filter coffee machines, fully automatic espresso machines and portioned espresso machines show double digit increase rates in this second quarter.
Major Domestic Appliances: Positive growth rates for the MDA sector
In the second quarter of 2013, the Major Domestic Appliances sector showed a 4.9% growth rate compared to Q2 2012, reaching a total value of €73 million. Comparing the first half of 2013 with the same period of 2012, the sales of MDA categories registered an increase of 1.7%.
The main growth drivers within the MDA market remain the built-in appliances such as ovens and hobs, as well as dishwashers, hoods and freezers which showed double digit increase rates in this second quarter. The total market was also pulled up by the positive developments of the cooling and washing machine segments, despite registering a decrease in volume. This is due to an upgrade in product features offerings: more than a quarter of the refrigerator’s market value in Q2 2013 came from frost free models and more than a quarter of the washing machines market is made with A++ and A+++ models. Remaining less positive, microwave ovens showed a flat performance and the freestanding cookers category continues on a descending path.
Information Technology: Another positive quarter for media tablets
The IT market recorded a slight growth of 2.7% in the second quarter of 2013, when compared to the same period of the previous year, summing €88 million.
Media tablets managed to gain ground in the IT sector with a diversified offer; there are models with different specifications on the market, serving all the consumer categories. While this product segment doubled in value, it grew more than three times in volume.
The mobile computing segment slightly decreased in the second quarter of 2013 compared to the same period of the previous year.
With the exception of keyboards (which are still growing) and pointing devices (which stagnated), the other IT categories (desk computers, monitors and webcams) recorded strong decline of two figures.
Consumer Electronics: Market decline continues
All in all the consumer electronics market displayed a decline in value of 5.2% in Q2 2013 compared with the same quarter of the previous year, amounting to a value of €52 million.
Q2 2013 was the first quarter in the last two years to show a decline in value for the panel TV market. Meanwhile, LCDs were stable in value, and decreased by one digit in terms of volume. Plasma took a hard hit both in value and volume, contributing to the overall decline of the TV market.
The 32 inch segment, accounting for the biggest share of all sales with LCD, was stable in value; while 40-42 inch - the second biggest segment, showed a negative development. The good news is that, overall, the price went up by almost 5% within the LCD market; and this was triggered by the positive dynamic of sales with large screen size TVs. However, inside these more premium segments, the double digit price decline was strong.
As far as it goes for the rest of electronic devices, such as audio, video, gaming and navigation gadgets, the developments were rather negative.
Office Equipment: Laser devices balance trend
The printers and multifunctional devices market registered a decline of 8.8% when compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching the value of €6 million.
The multifunctional laser devices - which stagnated- were the products that balanced the negative trend of the sector. The inkjet products continued their negative trend.
Photo: Hard hit in the summer
The improving fortunes of sales, which was visible for the last two years and had its peak during Black Friday and Christmas sales last year, stopped abruptly in Q2 2013 - the overall Photo sector declined by 25.5% in Q2 2013.
The entry level compacts, heavily affected by smartphones, took a hard hit and decreased by a double digit rate. High end compacts and DSLRs also contributed to the decline as these cameras saw declines.
