Welcome to Business Outlook
Related Articles
The demand for large-screen and premium-branded televisions has picked up in Bangladesh as sports-loving fans are gearing up to watch cricket and football world cups.
However, the sales of general TVs have not kept pace since a majority of consumers across the country have been feeling the pinch of economic pressure for several months because of the higher cost of living.
Television sales in Bangladesh usually treble during world cups, whether it is cricket or football.
Ritesh Ranjan, head of business at Transcom Digital, says the demand for high-end TVs has gone up for a week after the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup kicked off in Australia.
Bangladesh’s national cricket team is taking part in the tournament.
High-end TVs usually are introduced targeting the higher-middle and high-income groups. TVs with sizes between 55 inches to 98 inches are considered premium brands.
Transcom Digital sells 800 to 1,000 units of premium-branded TVs annually. “But I believe sales will rise three times when the Fifa Football World Cup kicks off,” Ranjan said.
Md Shariful Islam, chief manager (product planning) of the consumer electronics division at Samsung Electronics Bangladesh, said the sales of premium TVs have increased by around 80 per cent in the last two months.
The demand for the general segment TVs has gone up by 40 per cent during the period, he said.
Mostafa Nahid Hossain, chief business officer of Walton Television, said the sales of Walton-branded TVs centring the T20I Cricket World Cup and the Fifa World Cup have increased remarkably.
The 43-inch to 55-inch Walton TVs have huge demand, he said.
According to industry people, general customers are yet to move to bring in any new TV set to their drawing room although the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup has started, while the Fifa World Cup is just a month away. So, the festive mood among TV manufacturers and retailers is not visible yet.
Still, manufacturers and distributors of TV companies such as Samsung, Sony, LG, Singer, Toshiba, Walton, Vision, Transtec, Jamuna, Sharp, Konka, and Minister have launched several new models of big-screen TVs to entice sports lovers.
They have also introduced various offers, including cash incentives, equated monthly instalment (EMI) facilities and exchange offers.
Transcom Digital, which retails Samsung and Transtec-branded TV at its outlets aiming to cater to the middle class to higher income people, is offering six to 36 months of EMI facilities to attract customers with credit cards from 34 banks and non-bank financial institutions.
Recently, it started selling Sony televisions as well as those of ROWA, a TV brand in China.
Samsung Electronics Bangladesh plans to introduce some special gifts and cash discounts throughout the Fifa World Cup.
Walton is going to release some new models of the high-end premium series and looks to unveil special offers centring the World Cups.
Esquire Electronics, the sole local distributor of Japanese electronic brands General and Sharp, has introduced promotional offers for the two events.
“TV sales are almost the same as in normal times,” said Md Manzurul Karim, general manager of the company.
“We normally sell five sets a day whereas, during World Cups, it goes up to 11 to 12 units. But sales are poor this time.”
The demand for TVs with sizes from 32 inches to 43 inches is yet to pick up as the middle class is cautious when it comes to spending owing to economic uncertainty, caused by the Russia-Ukraine war.
The middle-income groups have been forced to put their purchases of luxury items largely on hold as their incomes have eroded by the persistently higher inflation and the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty.
Consumer prices have been rising since the beginning of the war on February 24. Inflation in Bangladesh surged to a multi-year high of 9.5 per cent in August and 9.1 per cent in September, forcing the people to tighten their belts as the war shows no sign of coming to an end.
Industry people claim that 52 per cent of the country’s television market is controlled by local manufacturers, with Walton topping the list with more than 25 per cent stake.
Singer holds a 9 per cent share, Minister 4 per cent, Vision 3 per cent, and Jamuna 2 per cent.
The rest 48 per cent of the market is controlled by foreign companies such as Samsung, Sony, LG, Sharp, Toshiba, and Xiaomi.
Although there is no credible data on the TV market, industry insiders have put the annual demand at around 27 lakh, worth Tk 10,000 crore, or $1 billion. It was $636 million in 2020.
Retailers expect the annual sales to cross 30 lakh units thanks to the Football World Cup.
(TDS)
