The household appliance market in France

White goods continue their slow but constant growth; in an almost saturated market, the boost is given by the wish of higher and higher comfort and by the search for appliances of excellent quality, with elegant design and user friendly.

“Each French dwelling hosts on average 7.2 big white goods and 13.8 small appliances”. Last year, with this short ascertainment, started the report by the trade association Gifam on the white good trend during the previous year. This year big appliances are still 7.2, but small ones have suddenly risen to 16.6. Overall – according to the mentioned report – in French dwellings are installed 204 million big appliances, 468 million small appliances and 90 million heating devices. A remarkable fleet indeed.

In 2017, in France they sold almost 15.3 million big appliances, 45.8 million small appliances and 4.5 electric appliances for the domestic heating. The previous year big ones were 15 millions, small ones 46 millions and heating systems still 4.5 millions.

Therefore, in short: 2017 scored the 2% global growth for big appliances, a–0.4% downturn for small ones whereas the sales were stable for the electric heating sector.

The 2017-year showed a positive trend for 9 of the 10 categories into which Gifam surveys subdivide big white goods; only stoves, partially replaced by the oven+hob combination are slightly decreasing (-2.9%). The growth of the latter appliances, in particular of built-in ovens, confirms the replacement phenomenon.

The most relevant rises were scored by refrigerators, suction hoods and dishwashers; more modest, but anyway positive, was the trend of washing machines, of microwave ovens, of freezers and dryers.

Therefore, the market of big white goods is slightly but constantly growing, even if it is now close to the saturation, as proven by the high presence rate of the main appliances. The search for higher and higher comfort and better quality is a determinant factor for the positive boost of consumptions still in course. Further substantial trend is the growing diffusion of built-in models, especially for refrigerators, washing machines, stoves and ovens.

Concerning small appliances, the items of the table, referred to 12 selected categories of products, are not exhaustive. In 2017, the appliances mentioned here represented 57.6% of total sales; the excluded types include for instance traditional mixers, fans and electric toothbrushes, just to mention the most diffused ones.

Nevertheless, the figures in the table confirm the general negative trend: 8 categories out of 12 show drops, sometimes of medium entity, such as kitchen robots or the appliances for the hair care, sometimes modest, like irons, steam units or filter coffeepots.

The appliance of the year is instead the epilator, which has registered the unexpected 34.3% growth versus the previous year. However, it is not a trend, having ended 2016 with the –9% downturn compared to 2015. The same is true also for the other more dynamic product, the espresso machine, whose sales in 2017 exceed by 10.8% the 2016-year, when they were however affected by the -4.3% drop.

The trend of the various small appliances appears then fluctuating, without a real characterizing trend.

The global value of the French market of white goods is indicated as amounting to 8 billion Euros, with the 4% rise versus 2016. It confirms to be the second market in Europe, preceded by Germany only, whose population however exceeds by about 20% the French one; according to the latest surveys by the French Statistics Institute NSEE, the latter reached 67.2 million people in all on December 31^st 2017.

According to still temporary evaluations, in 2017 France confirmed its ranking as second destination of the Italian export of white goods, with a percentage slightly inferior to 12% of the total.

Unlike what happens for white goods, there are no official or unofficial surveys of sales in the French consumer electronics. However, the sector press reports some figures released by the GfK agency and by other research companies.

In 2016, sector sales had positively benefitted from two important sports events: Olympic Games and the European Football Championship. 2017 was then the reaction year. Once ended the boost of these events, global sales dropped from 15.4 billion Euros to 14.2, with the approximate -8% decrease versus 2016. Moreover, the sales of TV sets dropped to slightly more than 5 million pieces, with a decrease by around –15% still versus the previous year.

In France, white goods continue their slow but constant growth. In an almost saturated market, the boost is given by the wish of higher and higher comfort and then by the search for appliances of excellent quality, with elegant design and user friendly. Concerning small appliances, the appearance of new requirements drives the new appliance types, which satisfy requirements that were scarcely felt in the past.

Different is the situation of brown goods: the crisis of consumer electronics, meant in the conventional sense, is a phenomenon that involves many Countries, especially in Europe.

Sales of big white goods in France (1000 units)

Source: Gifam (Groupement Interprofessionel des Fabricants d’Appareils d’Equipement Ménager)

Sales of some small appliances in France (1000 units)

Source: Gifam