The Brazilian technical consumer goods market showed signs of decline in the first quarter of the year, reflecting the economic problems that the country has faced since the beginning of 2015. According to GfK Temax, practically all of the categories which were analyzed showed signs of contraction. The major domestic appliances market decreased by 4%, compared to Q1 2014: this fall was driven by declines in sales of cookers and washing machines (9% and 6% respectively). The Information technology sector also declined, and is expected to keep falling, as prices are directly related to dollar exchange rates. Going against the current trend, the telecommunications sector showed signs of growth: sales increased more than 25%, compared to Q1 2014.
Small domestic appliances
In Q1 2015, the SDA sector recorded a slight decrease of about 1% in revenue, compared to Q1 2014. Some SDA segments – including food preparation equipment – remained stable, while electric fans and irons dropped by 11% and 9% respectively. Although the market contracted, a few categories, such as deep fryers and vacuum cleaners, registered growth in both units sold and in revenue. The increase of 29% in deep fryers was driven by hot air fryer products. Vacuum cleaners grew by 6% and espresso machines grew by 13% in value.
Major domestic appliances
Sales of white goods decreased by 4% in the first quarter of the year, compared with the same period last year, mainly because the three most important categories – cooling products, washing machines and cooking equipment – fell by 3%, 6% and 9% respectively. Even with the sale offers that traditionally take place in January, the market recorded falls. The only category that showed positive data was freezers with an increase of 20%, compared to Q1 2014. However, this was largely due to a poor performance in 2014.
Telecommunications
The TC market in Brazil fell by 20% in Q1 2015, compared to Q4 2014. However, when comparing Q1 2015 to Q1 2014, the market grew more than 25%. Mobile phones continued their fall, echoing the trend observed in 2014. They have largely been succeeded by smartphones, which accounted for nearly 90% of the mobile devices sold in this quarter.
Office equipment and consumables
In the first quarter of 2015, the Brazilian market for office equipment and consumables declined, compared to the same period of the previous year. Multifunctional devices and printers registered negative contributions. Inkjet-based multifunctional printers, the largest segment in the OE sector, registered the major negative contribution, followed by laser printers. In the accessories segment, the pointing devices category decreased.
Consumer electronics
In Q1 2015, sales in the consumer electronics sector registered a fall of 32%, compared to the same period in 2014. This was mainly due to a drop of around 30% in sales of TVs earlier this year, compared to the same period in the previous year. However, it is accepted that sales in 2014 were fueled (in several categories) by the FIFA World Cup. In contrast, the loudspeakers segment registered triple-digit growth this quarter, compared to Q1 2014, driven by volume growth in the soundbars category.
Information technology
In the first quarter of 2015, the Brazilian IT market revenue shrank, compared to the same period of 2014. Portable computers were the largest contributor to the decline in sales of IT products, followed by desktop computers and monitors. Not even the January sales and the “back to school” offers managed to increase volume for portables computers, making February the worst month (in terms of sales) for 24 months. The IT market, together with several other markets with high-priced items, was affected by the country’s economic situation. Sales of products in this sector are directly affected by any changes to the exchange rate, and by increases in interest rates.
Photography
For the first quarter of 2015, the photography sector declined in volume by 61.8%, compared to the same period last year. Digital cameras with higher definition (equal to, or greater than 18 megapixels) increased their market presence and became the second-most important product group. SLR cameras also increased their market share (in value terms) because of their higher average price.
