September was stable for the MDA sector with -8% in sales units compared to the same period last year. The biggest declines were in “freestanding” groups. Tumble dryers -29%, cookers were -27%, freezers -15%, ovens -14%, dishwashers -13%, washing machines -7%, coolers +1% and built-in hobs grew +2%. As for sales value, MDA grew by 4% overall. Coolers grew +18%, built-in hobs +13%, washing machine +8% and freezers +5%. Declines were recorded in tumble dryers -23%, cookers -16%, dishwashers -6%. Although we see that in general MDA declined a bit, this was offset by built-in appliances. However, sustaining growth in the last quarter of 2022 will be difficult for freestanding appliances.
Although sales for the SDA sector have been decreasing, September was a little different compared to the previous months. Sales units were still negative -3%, but in terms of sales value SDA showed some modest growth with +5%. It is likely that SDA will continue to shrink until the end of the year due to poor results in vacuum cleaners and hot beverage makers. Irons and shavers were -6% in sales units. As for sales value, irons grew +17% and shavers +10%. Once again, the biggest increases were recorded in dental category, although this category was not big enough to change the overall decline of the SDA category.
TV is down for the seventh month in a row, not only in terms of volume, but also in terms of value. September was slightly better than August with both sales units and sales value showing -2%. This trend will continue until the end of the year. On a positive note, September looked better because of the EURO basketball championship. November results are also expected to show a better TV sector outcome because of the football World Cup.
The SMP sector grew +50% in sales value and +6% in sales units in September compared to last year. One of the reasons for this massive growth was that a major manufacturer announced and launched its products in September rather than in November. In addition, as last year’s back-to-school season was insignificant due to stock shortages, this year’s fuller stocks contributed to larger September sales. Looking ahead, October is also expected to be positive as well. As for November and December, it will all depend on the amount of product available, but it is likely that the numbers will show a decrease.
The IT sector made a breakthrough in September because of back-to-school sales. With negative sales all summer, IT numbers started to stabilize. Declines of -10% in units sold were recorded for monitors and printers, while there were increases in media tablets (+9%) and notebooks (+1%). The total sales value increased by 14% and the largest growth was recorded for notebooks with +17% and media tablets with +16%.