The technical consumer goods market in Romania reached the value of EUR 699 million in the first six months of 2013, up 4.3 percent over the same period last year, according to the most recent GfK TEMAX report. In the second quarter of the year, the technical consumer goods market increased by 4.7 percent, compared to the same quarter of 2012.

The telecommunication sector recorded the biggest year-on-year increase in Q2 2013, of 17 percent, reaching the total value of EUR 99 million. According to GfK, “the smartphone segment was the main driver, while the feature phones market continued to decline”.

The small domestic appliances segment continued on a positive trend in the second quarter of the year. This sector increased 8.7 percent between April and June this year, compared to the same period in 2012, reaching a total value of EUR 24 million. In H1 2013, the small domestic appliances segment recorded a year-on-year increase of 4.7 percent.

The major domestic appliances sector went up 4.9 percent in the second quarter of 2013, over the same quarter last year, to a total value of EUR 73 million, while in the first six months of the year the increase was 1.7 percent.

The IT market recorded a year-on-year increase of 2.7 percent in the second quarter of this year, summing EUR 88 million. “Media tablets managed to gain ground in the IT sector with a diversified offer; there are models with different specifications on the market, serving all the consumer categories. While this product segment doubled in value, it grew more than three times in volume,” reads the GfK report.

The photo sector had a year-on-year decrease of 25.5 percent in Q2 2013, while in the office equipment sector, the printers and multifunctional devices market registered a decline of 8.8 percent when compared to the same period of the previous year, to EUR 6 million.

The consumer electronics market also went down in the second quarter of the year, reporting a year-on-year decrease of 5.3 percent and total sales of EUR 52 million.

Find the entire GfK TEMAX report on Romania here.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com