By Claire Reilly
It’s been a mixed bag for electrical retailers in Australia for the start of 2013 — the bad news is that the consumer electronics industry is in a state of decline; the good news is that the market experienced its lowest rate of decline in five quarters and there has been a “significant slowdown” in how poorly the industry has performed.
And the best news? Small appliances are still boosting sales across the board.
This data comes out of the latest GfK Temax Australia report for Q1 2013, a litmus test of sorts for the current state of the consumer electronics and appliance industry.
After a strong peak at Christmas, sales in the overall Technical Consumer Goods market for the first three months of the year stood at the $4.15 billion mark, down 1.6 per cent on the same period in 2012.
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According to GfK Retail and Technology commercial director Gwenno Hopkin, there were several positive points to be found in the results.
“With interest rates and unemployment figures remaining low and stable, consumer confidence was relatively strong in the first quarter,” she commented in the Temax report. “This quarter was also notable for its weather, with ‘Australia’s hottest summer on record’ driving growth in all cooling-related categories.
“Most remaining sectors recorded a relatively flat performance, with the exception of Small Domestic Appliances, which enjoyed an 8 per cent year-on-year growth.”
While Hopkin conceded that the current market was tough, she said there were bright points on the horizon.
“It is now generally accepted that the mining boom is over for Australia, and the government will be running a deficit for the foreseeable future. With an election year looming, and the continued pressure on local business created by the strong dollar, retail conditions will remain challenging.
“In the meantime, while the CE sector shows signs of stabilizing, the IT and Telecom sectors now face the challenge of operating in a mature market environment. Hopefully, a continued focus on the often smaller, but higher-priced and more profitable sub-segments of the technology market will keep revenues stable for the remainder of the year.”
Quartlery sales of "Technical Consumer Goods" from Q1 2009 show a slowdown in the rate of decline, while the high peaks show a consistent boost at the end of each year. (Click image above for a larger view).