Consumer Electronics on the Rise in Ireland
12 February 2010Ireland, Consumer Electronics
The year 2009 has been a difficult one for Consumer Electronics. Over the past 12 months many of the major European markets have struggled to combat the effects of the recession and this impact has been particularly evident in Ireland. Sales value of total consumer electronics has fallen by 27.6% to 310.7 million Euros in 2009. This is a higher rate than the 24.9% decline experienced in 2008m (see Chart 1).
Chart 1: Irish CE Market in 2009Click image to enlarge However, as 2009 continued, the level of decline has lessened, and in the final quarter the value of consumer electronics was only down 15.2%. December has seen the lowest level of decline in 2009, with sales value falling by 11.9%. Responsibility for this lies with PTV, which only saw a 2.9% value decline in comparison to December 2008. LCD televisions saw a 4.2% sales volume increase and a marginal -0.7% fall in value.
High definition televisions were responsible for over 97% of the Irish PTV market in 2009. The market as a whole saw 27.6% year on year value decline, with plasma sales value falling by 34.9%. The first eight months were responsible for the majority of this fall, as the final quarter saw sales pick up, turning positive in December’s comparison to 2008. Prices of high definition sets have fallen considerably in 2009, down by 22.2% on 2008 (see Chart 2).
Chart 2: Irish TV Market in 2009Click image to enlarge Although total audio saw a 22.1% value decline in 2009 (to stand at 472.2 million Euros), several developing sectors experienced considerable growth. The significant micro systems segment, which now constitutes 33.5% of the total audio home systems value, has also seen noticeable growth from its 27.3% market share in December 2008.
DAB is steadily increasing its share; with 14% of audio home systems sold in 2009 including this feature, an increase of 3.3% on 2008. Total DAB has seen year on year value growth of 1.6% as well as 40% volume growth. This can be accredited to the 33% drop in prices for DAB systems in the last quarter of 2009.
Portable media players had a difficult 2009, with market value falling by 23% to 25.2 million Euros. The current trend towards more expensive media players and especially players with video capabilities is helping to support the market, with video playback units accounting for 88.8% of the market value in 2009.
The DVD market endured a year on year value decline of 24.2%, falling to 19.9 million euro. This drop can be attributed to falling sales in DVD recorders whose year on year sales value fell 56.3% in December 2009. The VCR combination segment fell away from 201,400 euro in December 2008 to only 6,400 euro in 2009. But it isn’t all bleak for DVD, with the substantial Portable DVD player segment increasing by 4.5% sales value in December. Also the continued success of Blu-ray players seeing value rise by 48% and sales more than double compared to December 2008.
Looking forwards, 2010 is set to be a more productive year for consumer electronics. Sales are likely to improve in ROI as VAT was reduced to 21% on January 1st. This effect will be compounded by the return to 17.5% for VAT in Northern Ireland as it follows the rest of the UK. As Ireland continues to climb out of the recession, consumer expenditure should boost the growing markets, including high definition and DAB.
The continued uptake of Internet enabled equipment is likely to be a major selling point. Internet enabled televisions have grown to 7.5% of total television sales value in December. As content continues to improve, and the functionality and availability of the devices becomes more attractive to consumers, this figure is likely to grow and boost sales and average prices across the television, DVD and set top box markets.
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