Indesit Company, the Italian producer of home appliances which owns the Indesit and Ariston brands, has logged first-quarter sales 15% higher than in the corresponding period of last year.
The increase in sales is expected to be maintained for the entire year and will allow the company to pass beyond the 50 million-euro threshold, according to estimates by the company.
a??The main factor behind the growth was the falling interest rates for consumer loans. This was aided by the stronger ROL, which increased prices for our products, as well as for our competitors,a?? said Eugen Paturan, country manager for Indesit in Romania.
Unlike last year, explained Paturan, when growth in the number of electrical home appliances surpassed that in the value of the products sold, this year the two levels have converged.
a??We had balanced growth during the first three months of the year, with both the number of products sold and their value rising by 15%. I believe that from this point of view the Romanian market has reached maturity. A price of two hundred euros (8-9 million ROL) for a washing machine is a minimum, below which you cannot go. Two years ago, it seemed impossible to reach such a level.a??
Last year Indesit boosted its sales of home appliances by around 6%, however the value of those sales decreased from the 9 million euros seen in 2003, which was the companya??s best year in this respect since entering the Romanian market.
a??The growth seen in the first quarter will continue over the entire year to give us around 15% higher sales at the end of the year, year-on-yeara??, said Paturan.
With the Romanian market continuing to be dominated by cheap products, however, the Italian manufacturer is likely to have a hard time hitting this target.
a??We do not have an entry-level brand. We have had a permanent presence on the medium segment. We decided to bring to this segment a number of products, such as Indesit Graffiti refrigerators, on which you can write and leave messages for others at home, which can be easily erased without scratching any surfaces.a??
Paturan says the 15% rate of growth in Indesita??s sales is higher than the growth on the market. ionut.bonoiu@zf.ro
Pentru alte știri, analize, articole și informații din business în timp real urmărește Ziarul Financiar pe WhatsApp Channels
