Fifa effect: UAE TV sales up by about 40%

UAE retailers are reporting close to 40 per cent increase in sales of smart TV panels specifically due to Fifa World Cup.

Both Jumbo and Jackys have said their sales increased between 30 and 40 per cent in the UAE during the past two months compared to the same period last year.

It is not just the UAE that is reporting similar numbers. A Bloomberg report points out that Sony sales rose 30 per cent to $2.15 billion, compared with $1.65bn a year earlier. Samsung’ sales this quarter stood at about $9bn.

According to Sean Connor, General Manager at Plug Ins in the UAE, consumer sentiment on the UHD sets has improved significantly since prices have dropped to more reasonable levels and the offering has expanded across many brands.

“We saw solid growth in panels in the last couple of months. Panel business across the company touched double-digit growth and most of that came from premium displays.” The retailers’ world cup offers included raffle promotion with holiday packages.

According to Nadeem Khanzadah, Head- Retail, Jumbo Electronics, the sales has been increasing ever since the Gitex Shopper Spring edition in April. “Since then, the sales momentum has been picking up, with consumers increasingly looking to upgrade the size of their TV, and also migrate to new generation 4K, UHD and OLED TVs,” he said.

According to him 4K and UHD televisions are most in demand, especially in the 55” to 65” sizes. “These have clearly become the new ‘sweet spot’ within the category. OLED televisions are still a niche product, despite prices coming down by as much as 50 per cent; although we have been seeing a rise in consumer interest towards curved OLED TVs,” he added.

The company’s promotions include a free Nikon DSLR Camera and PlayStation 3 with select models.

Ashish Panjabi, Chief Operating Officer, Jacky's Group of Companies, too said sales had increased by 30-40 per cent in terms of value for April-June period compared to same period last year.

“Demand has been strong for bigger size screens, particularly 55” in larger as well as UHD’s. Curved UHD has also started well and it’s been a challenge securing enough stocks as this is a very new technology and supply is still limited,” he said.

Among the company’s prominent offers are free World Cup subscriptions bundled with BeIN sports, gift vouchers and other product bundles.

The increase in sales the retailers pointed out can be specifically linked to the world cup frenzy.

“The jump is directly related to the World Cup and apart from home users, we’ve also seen demand from commercial clients, whether it be hotels, restaurants and cafes.  Ramadan overlapping with the World Cup has also helped,” said Panjabi.

As Khanzadah notes the Fifa World Cup has certainly served as further impetus to sales in this category. “We can confirm a 30 per cent increase in sales of televisions so far,” he said.

Connor from Plug Ins, however, notes that the World Cup could be a short-term driver for premium panel sales. The natural replacement cycle for panels looks to be the primary contributor to strong performance,” he said.

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