Sizable decline in sales on the white goods market

2010-08-23

In the first half of 2010, spendings for white goods went down by 18% year on year to PLN 1.6bn, as Rzeczpospolita reported. The segment of washing machines reported the highest decline in sales, i.e., by 22% to PLN 480m (€120m). The demand for dishwashing machines went down by 20% to PLN 250m (€62.5m), while the segment of kitchen stoves reported a 17% decrease to PLN 350m (€87.5m). Moreover, the sale of refrigerators decreased by 14% to PLN 510m (€127.5m). The latter segment reported the lowest decline in sales as summer is traditionally the best trading period for refrigerators.
However, the pace of decline has been slowing down recently. May and June 2010 reported just a 14% decrease in sales. Also, autumn 2010 is expected to bring an increase in sales, mainly in the segment of washing machines.
Despite the decline on the market, Amica, the Polish producer of household appliances, managed to increase its market share in terms of value by 1.5 p.p. to 13.5% in the first six months of 2010. Also, Samsung reported a rise in sales, increasing its market share by 1 p.p. to 6% in Poland in H1 2010. The Korean giant managed to boost its sales thanks to the acquisition of two plants of Amica in Poland where it has started production of appliances from the budget category.