The Spanish market towards stability

In Spain, the recovery, begun in 2014, continued in 2015 and scored, for the household appliance industry, a 13.6% growth in value. The first months of 2016 report adjustment signs.

Spain is by tradition one of the main destinations of the Italian export of white goods. Historically ranking fourth after Germany, France and Great Britain, owing to the general economic crisis, it dropped to the sixth place in 2013, surpassed by Russia and by the Netherlands. Then, in 2015 the Italian export towards Russia literally collapsed, while the role of the Netherlands as fourth destination strengthened, placing Spain in fifth position.
Sources

The trade association Anfel is joined by producers and importers of big white goods. It releases monthly (unique in Europe) accurate statistical data about the sales of these products in the Country.

Different is instead the situation for small appliances and brown goods. Concerning these categories, no official data in quantity are issued but only approximate estimates in value, not always complete. Main sources are for us the news appeared on the Spanish sector press.

Finally, it is worth reminding that the diffusion rate of single appliances in Iberian dwellings is surveyed by the statistical government institute INE every 5 years only. In two previous articles, we reported the last one published, referred to 2011. More recent data are not available.

The market in 2015

The recovery after the crisis, started in 2014, continued in 2015. The first great upswing, which in 2014 had scored the 16.3% growth in quantity, slightly slowed down and therefore in 2015 the global rise was by 11.6% only, still in terms of unit number. On the contrary, the growth in value neatly exceeded the previous year and the 13.6% growth was achieved. In other terms: once ended the crisis, in 2014 Spanish consumers tried to equip their houses with all necessary appliances, which they could not afford buying in the previous years, obviously privileging the less expensive products. Then, in 2015, the trend oriented towards higher-comfort products, necessarily more expensive than previous ones.

For all appliances, with the exception of stoves – today often replaced by the combination cooktop + microwave oven – they registered sale increases. They strongest ones concerned refrigerators and dryers, the most modest involved freezers, washing machines and suction hoods. In any case, in 2015 only dryers, ovens and suction hoods achieved growths exceeding 2014’s. For all other products, the initial boom is decreasing.

The essential trend is the higher demand for valid eco-friendly appliances. Some legislative innovations about energy consumptions and pollution were further drivers towards this direction.

Small appliances and brown goods

The sector of small appliances achieved a neat growth, too, attaining a global value of about 0.9 billion Euros in 2015, with the 12.5% rise versus 2014. All three segments, into which this field is split, benefitted from that. Body care appliances, in particular, lived a neat recovery while the demand for heat ones grew in the first months of 2015 thanks to the winter duration, relatively cold for the Spanish climate.

Brown goods were instead affected by a small general drop, with the exception of video cameras only. In 2014, World Football Championships resulted in a sale boom: in 2015 the unavoidable downturn occurred. Besides, we must consider the competition of new products, such as tablets and smartphones, whose sales are not included in the reported data.

Prospects

The recovery of the Spanish economy is going on and in the first two months of 2016, according to Anfel, the sales of big white goods grew by 2% compared to the corresponding 2015 period.

The growth therefore keeps on but not with the initial rate: the boom is shifting into an adjustment phase. Official estimates report a likely 4- 5% rise for the current year.

The ongoing development is expected to continue for small appliances and in 2016 a further sale rise is envisaged, by 10% approximately.

Despite the market growth, in white goods the parallel second-hand market goes on anyway, even if its incidence is lower than the one occurred in the last years

Finally, for brown goods, two opposite factors will clash in 2016: on one hand the competition of tablets and smartphones, on the other hand the Olympic Games held next summer. This should result in a recovery of the sector growth, but with quite modest development rates, currently not easily quantifiable.

SALES OF BIG WHITE GOODS IN SPAIN IN 2014 AND IN 2015 (1,000 UNITS)

Source: ANFEL (Asociacion Nacional de Fabricantes y Importadores de Electrodomesticos de Linea Blanca)

the market of consumer electronics in spain (million Euros)

Source: AMETIC