The FINANCIAL — New Year’s Eve saw more than doubled sales of electrical appliances in Georgia. With 1,283,069 units, mobile phones were the most imported electrical appliance in 2014. Retailers named television sets as the bestselling home appliances bought at New Year. Over 60% of Georgians purchase home appliances via bank instalments. Retailers Elit Electronics and OKAY plan to expand their market shares in 2015.
According to the National Statistics Office of Georgia (GeoStat) the number of consumer electronic products imported in Georgia reached 2,866,873 units, worth USD 294,645,500, during the January-November period of 2014. The figure was 2,585,865, worth USD 239,569,400, in the prior-year period. Together with other electronic equipment an increase has been shown in computer technology. 1,334.3 tonnes, worth USD 104,393,100, were imported in Georgia during the first eleven months of 2014, up from 1,249.1 tonnes, worth USD 93,896,700, in 2013.
With 182,732 units, televisions top the list of the best-selling home appliances in Georgia. They are followed by irons with 156,863 units, washing-machines with 132,638 units, vacuum cleaners – 128,957, and refrigerators – 104, 448.
Electrical appliance retailer OKAY cooperates with all the large commercial banks and offers the option of paying by instalments. Sales via instalment loans have been increasing year by year at the company. In 2014 they surpassed 60%. Over 40-50% of the sales at Elit Electronics, one of the leading retailers, are made up by banking loans. The figure amounts to 60% at another popular retailer – Smiley. As for GO! Electronics, only 25% of its consumers manage to avoid relying on banking loans while purchasing products from them.
The majority of retailers positively estimate the year 2014 which brought about sales growth of over 40%.
“Consumer electronics store OKAY represents the most steadily growing company on the Georgian market. OKAY is an official partner of Samsung. The company is the exclusive partner of German AEG, Italian Zanussi and Candy and Hungarian Orion. In 2014, OKAY opened three new stores in Georgia: in Tbilisi, Batumi and Zugdidi. A store of a new format – OKAY Kitchen Studio – was opened at the end of the last year. The sales rate is growing accordingly. We had more than 50% increase of realization in 2014 in comparison with the previous year,” Shalva Alavidze, Head of the Marketing and Communication Department at OKAY, told The FINANCIAL.
2014 brought significant sales growth for Elit Electronics in comparison with 2013. However, Noka Baindurashvili, Marketing Manager at Elit Electronics, estimated the second half of the year to be quite critical for the consumer electronics market in Georgia.
“Despite this we managed to come through this period painlessly and still achieve growth. It is also very important to note that Elit Electronics still maintains its position of leadership on the consumer electronics market,” Baindurashvili said.
2014 was also quite a successful year for the retailer Smiley. The company achieved 40% sales growth compared to the previous year.
Go! Electronics was the only consumer electronics retailer to have seen sales drop, recording a decrease of 20% in 2014 in comparison with 2013.
The best-selling electrical appliances for the last year are as follows: TVs, mobile phones, refrigerators, washing machines and laptops. “TVs with 32%, refrigerators – 20%, mobile phones – 17%, notebooks – 13%, and tablets – 5%, were the bestselling products in 2014,” said Tata Beriashvili, Marketing Manager at Smiley.
Smartphones with 30%, tablets – 20%, TVs – 19%, notebooks – 18% and cameras – 13%, top the list of the best-selling products at GO! Electronics.
“Samsung still remains the bestselling brand at OKAY. Its share exceeds 50% of the total volume. The popularity of Samsung worldwide as well as in Georgia is what determines the big demand for this brand. In addition consumers are well aware that OKAY is the official representative of Samsung. We highly appreciate this trust towards OKAY,” said Alavidze.
Samsung has appeared to be the most popular brand not only at OKAY, but also at GO! Electronics and Smiley. “Samsung is the bestselling brand at our company, making up 42% of sales. Its wide assortment of products as well as good marketing support promote its popularity on the Georgian market,” said Dato Berdzuli, Brand Manager at GO! Electronics.
The sales volume of Samsung products is almost equal at Smiley. The South Korean brand leads the list of best-selling brands and makes up 40%.
Elit Electronics is an exclusive representative of German Bosch in Georgia. It is the bestselling brand of the company. The increase in demand for Slovenian Gorenje at the company has been significant. According to Baindurashvili, quality is the main determinant of the popularity of both brands.
Elit Electronics as well as OKAY plan to open new stores in Georgia during 2015. GO! Electronics and Smiley will introduce new brands to the market.
“OKAY will continue with the opening of new stores in 2015. We will also open our new format stores – OKAY Kitchen Studio. Here consumers will purchase desired products in a comfortable environment. We will continue to maintain competitive prices and offer products to our customers with acceptable terms,” said Alavidze.
In 2014 Elit Electronics implemented stores of a new concept. The company added cafeterias and children’s entertainment centres to their stores. The management believes that the addition of these elements will make the shopping experience more enjoyable for customers.
“Elit Electronics plans to open new stores in Georgia in 2015. We will open new service centres in the regions as well. This will increase the service quality after the purchase. Elit Service is the exclusive and most important product on which the company spends most of its efforts. Service quality remains the most highly prioritized direction of the company,” Baindurashvili told The FINANCIAL.
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