Garmin targets sales of 6,000 GPS in 2008

Top sales last year were in December, when 25 percent of the total 3,468 units were sold. The best sales in terms of units were through the retail channel, with the “star” being the Flanco/Flamingo network, which had over 50 percent of total sales.

“For 2008, we have budgeted net sales worth some RON 6 million, but in terms of units the growth will be very high, because prices have dropped significantly. The target for this year is 6,000 units, but I believe we will sell between six and eight thousand units,” according to a declaration for Business Standard by Bogdan Condurateanu, General Manager of Sheba Distribution. “The market share in 2007 was 15 percent, with some 3,500 units sold. We are talking about the market share on the navigation terminal segment or similar functions, so we are talking about a market of over 23,000 units last year,” added Condurateanu.

The Romanian market is dominated by Mio, with 60 percent of the market share, according to the representative of the American Garmin producer, which claims a 15 percent stake.

“The strong point of our equipment is that we have a database with video cameras installed along national road DN1, and our terminals alert the driver as he is approaching these,” said the Director of Sheba, who indicated that the database is permanently updated on Garmin’s site, from where it can be downloaded.

Condurateanu also indicated that the market has huge potential. “Consider how many people have cars in Romania. Three million? We have three million potential GPS clients. Realistically speaking, the potential drops to the number among those three million who can afford a medium category mobile phone. And one million potential users is huge, compared to the 23,000 sold last year. And we are speaking about a price of RON 550 for the cheapest Garmin GPS with a preinstalled map,” added Sheba Distribution’s representative.