Belgium: good trend for small domestic appliances

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BELGIO%20AAA%20AAA[1]The Belgian market of technical consumer goods closed the last year with sales of 5.69 billion euros, recording a growth of 1.4%, compared to 2013. This trend was due especially to the telecommunications sector, thanks to sales of subsidized smartphones and the release of new models at the end of the year. Despite the big decline in mediatablets, the information technology sector – together with the small domestic appliances sector – also contributed to growth.
This last one during 2014 recorded an increase of 2.8%, with a total value of 439 million euros.
In the area of personal care products, hair clippers, hair dryers and hair styling products, all surpassed 2013’s results. Dental care products, however, lost ground and sales of shavers did not improve. Sales of home comfort products remained stable.
A negative trend characterized, instead, the major domestic appliances, that closed last year with a decrease of 0,2% and a value of 1.12 billion euro.
The sector experienced some price pressure, reducing value creation in some ‘free-standing’ categories.
A trend for purchasing household appliances which consume less energy was noted. This was apparent in the washing machines sector where the highest energy labels represented the highest market value.