Laptop sales help cel.ro and pcfun.ro maintain growth

Cel.ro and pcfun.ro, two of the largest online retailers in Romania, posted 15% and 30% higher revenues respectively in the first half of this year, amid a rise in the number of orders placed for IT products on the Internet. "We recorded a 20 million-RON (4.7 million-euro) turnover, up 15% against the first half of 2008. The average receipt fell by around 15%" said Tiberiu Pop, executive manager of Corsar Grup, which manages cel.ro online store. Marius Ghenea, president of FIT Distribution, the manager of online retailer pcfun.ro, says first-half turnover rose by 30% against the similar period of 2008, but that the average receipt remained more or less the same. "On the one hand consumers chose mobility-oriented products, such as laptops, whose acquisition prices are rather high, but the growth potential was offset by the overall price decline for IT products," Ghenea explained.