Just Released: "Bulgaria Consumer Electronics Report Q4 2012"

Recently published research from Business Monitor International, "Bulgaria Consumer Electronics Report Q4 2012", is now available at Fast Market Research

by Bill Thompson

(WireNews+Co) - Boston, MA - 17 October 2012

BMI View: We expect difficult trading conditions to persist in many segments of Bulgaria's consumer electronics market in 2012. In 2012, our expectation for still-weak economic conditions in 2012 underpins our downward revision for consumer electronics sales. The deterioration in the external environment and the eurozone debt crisis will continue to weigh on Bulgarian consumer sentiment. We believe these factors will gradually subside as policy-makers attempt to tackle the debt issue. Growing affordability will drive consumer electronics purchases, with prices of key products such as notebooks and LCD TV sets dropping considerably. Growth areas in 2012 will include smartphones, TV sets and tablets weak as a result of the economic situation. Difficult conditions are expected to persist in 2012, as Bulgarian households respond to an environment of high unemployment and inflation by increasing savings.

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Headline Expenditure Projections

Computer Sales: US$726mn in 2011 to US$700mn in 2012, -4% in US dollar terms. Forecast in US dollar terms downwardly revised due to macroeconomic factors and a sharp contraction in sales in Q411.

AV sales: US$359mn in 2011 to US$381mn in 2012, +6% in US dollar terms. Forecast in US dollar terms unchanged, with TV sets expected to provide the most dynamic development.

Handset sales: US$226mn in 2011 to US$264mn in 2012, +17% in US dollar terms. Forecast in US dollar terms unchanged, with smartphones the main revenue growth driver.

Risk/Reward Rating: Bulgaria's score was 46.3 out of 100.0. BMI expects rising penetration of consumer electronics devices such as smartphones and flat-screen TV sets and the country is in a favourable position to continue to improve its current sixth place ranking over time.

Key Trends & Developments

?? BMI expects PC sales in 2012 to report a mild improvement on 2011, in volume terms. Moreover, there should be a consolidation of prices, as vendors promote higher-end models. Tablets enjoyed rapid growth in the Bulgarian market, with a 50-fold increase in sales of the devices at the Multirama chain of consumer electronics retail stores. ?? The main AV growth area will be digital products such as flat-panel TV sets, which have become increasingly popular with consumers. As overall TV set sales have fallen, vendors and retailers have looked to product innovation to support revenue, with the introduction of LEDbacklit TV sets, 3D TV and smart TV sets. ?? Smartphones's share of revenue is projected to equal that of feature phones by 2013, and to reach 70% by the end of the forecast period. The share of subscribers to Bulgarian mobile operator Vivacom's network that use smartphones increased to 50% during 2011.

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