Big boom in electronics sales: The best August in the last five years | Economic Times

Kolkata: The best August sales in the last five years — this high impact good news comes from India’s leading consumer electronics and appliance makers such as LG, Samsung, Bosch, Siemens, Panasonic, Godrej Appliances and Haier.Equally significant and indicating a consumer willingness to again buy high-value items, best-selling products last month were larger refrigerators and washing machines as well as dishwashers and top-end microwaves.Leading companies said Independence Day sales on ecommerce marketplaces were “massive” and the return of consumer financing also helped. Companies estimate they grew sales by 25-40% in August from a year earlier while sequential sales growth over July is more than 20%.“Pent-up demand seems to be continuing…we posted our best August performance in over five years — sales went up by 40% over last August,” said Vijay Babu, vice president at LG Electronics, the country’s largest home appliance maker. Neeraj Bahl, CEO of BSH Home Appliances India — which makes Bosch and Siemens appliances, said its performance in August was the best in a decade in both revenue and unit sales. “We expect overall festive season will be good, even though Onam in Kerala has been relatively dull,” said Bahl.Companies said the demand is more for large capacity products — refrigerators above 300 litres, washing machines over 6 kg as well as products like microwaves and dishwashers.77902271Consumers Buying Big Screen TVsConsumers are also buying large televisions with screen size of 40 inches and above. Panasonic India CEO Manish Sharma said favourable monsoon, work-from-home, improving consumer sentiment and rise in first-time buyer from rural markets are propelling this demand. Consumers across markets are preferring large screen LED TVs over smartphones to view streaming content, he said.Sales of televisions, appliances and personal grooming products have been growing month-on-month since India unlocked itself due to change in consumption habit. In fact, most large companies had reached pre-Covid level of business in July. That had led to shortage of some products like dishwashers due to sudden pick-up in demand.Haier India president Eric Braganza said the brand witnessed highest sales in television in August. “This is despite 10-15% of shops remaining closed due to localised lockdowns. We are now optimistic about festive season despite the contraction in GDP growth…thanks to bumper harvests, rural markets are performing exceptionally well…and there’s also a change in consumption habit,” he said. The festive season, which starts with Navratri and goes up to Diwali, usually contributes to 40-45% of annual business of white goods makers. Capacity addition started July-end for most companies. And if August is any indication, there may be plenty of festive cheer for top consumer electronic brands.