“If 2008 started with a sharp increase in sales, we cannot say the same about the beginning of this year. Although the household appliance segment is affected by the crisis, Indesit succeeded in maintaining its market share due to offers initiated early this year,” said Eugen Paturan, Country Manager of Indesit Company.
According to the company official, considering the current context, “which is changing on a weekly basis,” it is difficult to estimate the market’s evolution this year. “There are many factors which can influence both sales and the market: macroeconomic policies, salary policies in the coming months, the evolution of the national currency, lending and fiscal policies. However, we hope to see the first signs of market stabilization towards the end of this year,” Paturan said.
Pressure on prices was high in this field, and margins fell significantly, for both producers and retailers. The depreciation of the leu, by more than 10 percent, negatively affected the profitability of the business. “Considering that our products are imported, in the event of a possible further depreciation of the national currency, it could become necessary to raise prices,” the company official added.
Moreover, a looser lending policy is considered to be the main factor which would lead to the relaunching of sales on this market, especially since 60-70 percent of the growth registered in this field in previous years was due to consumer loans.
