Consumer electronics sales slump
September 1, 2011
By Chris Forrester
The first six months of this year were not good for sales of consumer electronics devices, according to the latest report from researchers GfK. It says the sector suffered a “significant deterioration” with sales in Western Europe declining by 11.3 percent compared with the same period in 2010. The numbers come out ahead of the upcoming IFA electronics show in Berlin.
GfK says the downturn is attributable to a lack of stimulus from major sporting events, the shutdown of analogue TV in some European countries pushing forward purchases, and the financial and economic crisis in the Eurozone. Nevertheless, innovative segments are growing within all product groups.
“In comparison to last year, when events such as the Winter Olympic Games, the Football World Cup and the shutdown of analogue TV signals, for example in France and Italy, provided major boosts to the CE market; similar stimuli are lacking in 2011. Added to this is the fact that the ongoing financial and economic crisis continues to unsettle European consumers. Consequently, in the first half of the year, both sales revenue and unit sales declined significantly in the CE segments in the six Western European countries of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK.”