Customers buy home appliances “strictly out of necessity”

Romania is the cheapest country in Europe when it comes to the price of a home appliance, says Giuseppe Parma, CEO of Indesit Romania. Customers here pay 999 RON (238 euros) on average for a fridge, a washing machine or a gas cooker, he says, unlike in Turkey, for instance, where the price is almost double, writes BUSINESS Magazin weekly.

There is a simple reason for that - people do not have a lot of money and manufacturers adapt, believes Parma.

Last year, the Romanian market of durable consumer goods fell by 42.6% against 2008, to 1.42 billion euros, according to market research company GfK. The market of big home appliances fell by 37%, to 334 million euros.

Under the circumstances, last year also brought about a change in consumer behaviour and in terms of preferences. "Those who bought did it strictly out of necessity, not out of a need to replace an appliance that still works with a more modern one or with a different-branded one," says Mioara Bolozan, marketing manager of Whirlpool Romania.