By James Wells
SYDNEY: Samsung Electronics Australia has confirmed it will increase prices from 1 February across all product categories due to a decline in the exchange rate between the South Korean Won and the Australian Dollar as well as due to an increase in raw material costs.
“We will definitely be putting up the prices in our whitegoods categories by between 5 per cent and 15 per cent and we will be sending out an advisory to retailers in the very near future,” said Samsung sales director, Michael Richardson.
“The full list of prices rises in the whitegoods categories will be outlined in a sales price list which will be circulated at the end of December for a 1 February implementation,” he said.
“Regarding AV products – it is our intention to increase prices on 1 February and we will be monitoring the market prior to any announcements. The increases relating to the AV category are less urgent than the whitegoods market which has suffered the double effect of raw materials increases and currency fluctuations.
“We will definitely be having a price rise in the AV like the other suppliers in the market, it is just a question of how much and in which categories.”
Richardson would not confirm the impact of the currency fluctuation on the release of the new range of Samsung televisions in the second quarter of 2009.