New Consumer Goods research report from Business Monitor International is now available from Fast Market Research

Boston, MA -- (SBWire) -- 03/12/2013 --BMI View: BMI expects the Croatian CE market will report solid growth, with an upwards revision of our forecast due largely to macroeconomic factors. In 2012, the government's introduction of a fiscal austerity budget weakened consumer demand for durables, which was also hit by the increase in VAT to 25% from 23%. Despite these exogenous factors, we expect demand for consumer lifestyle products such as smartphones, computers and LED-backlit TV sets to provide growth areas. Consumer electronics retail sales drivers include growing affordability of digital products, retail channel expansion, digital TV conversion and 3G mobile network rollouts.

View Full Report Details and Table of Contents

Headline Expenditure Projections

- Computer hardware sales: US$531mn in 2012 to US$542n in 2013, -2% in US dollar terms. Forecast in US dollar terms downwardly revised due to macroeconomic factors and strong tablet sales have constrained sales of traditional notebooks.
- AV sales: US$262mn in 2011 to US$270mn in 2012, =3% in US dollar terms. Forecast in US dollar terms upwardly revised, with the UEFA Euro-2012 tournament and the London Olympics providing a boost to demand for flat-screen TV sets.
- Handset sales: US$228mn in 2012 to US$247mn in 2013, +8% in US dollar terms. Forecast in US dollar terms downwardly revised but with stronger growth in smartphone sales.

Risk/Reward Rating: Croatia's score was 38.6 out of 100.0. Croatia took 7th place in our latest CE RRR table, ranking behind established EU markets such as the Czech Republic and Hungary but ahead of Serbia.

Key Trends & Developments

- A number of factors should support momentum in the Croatian computer market, including a government plan to provide 800,000 tablet computers to Grade 1 schoolchildren. Consumer demand will still continue to be the main IT market growth driver, owing to economic growth and rising income levels. Amid fierce competition, aggressive promotions and new products are likely to be unveiled by retailers, resulting in pressure on margins.
- Digital TV availability and programming should continue to expand in Croatia and should remain a driver of TV set upgrades. While around 98% of Croatia's 1.7mn households have TV sets, there is a trend for multiple sets. Sales of LCD and plasma sets have increased as prices have fallen over the last few years. In 2011, sales of LED and LED-backlit TV sets trended upwards owing to growing affordability after their appeal was initially limited mainly to highend consumers. 3D sets and 'smart' TV sets are growth areas.
- The Croatian smartphone penetration rate is considerably below the level found in Western European markets, leaving plenty of room for growth. However, the first nine months of 2012 the rate was estimated to have increased as smartphones constituted 51% of the handsets sold by Hrvatski Telecom . The operator has reported continued quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) growth in sales of the devices.

About Fast Market Research
Fast Market Research is an online aggregator and distributor of market research and business information. Representing the world's top research publishers and analysts, we provide quick and easy access to the best competitive intelligence available. Our unbiased, expert staff will help you find the right research to fit your requirements and your budget. For more information about these or related research reports, please visit our website at http://www.fastmr.com or call us at 1.800.844.8156.

Browse all Consumer Goods research reports at Fast Market Research

You may also be interested in these related reports:

- Bulgaria Consumer Electronics Report Q1 2013
- Indonesia Consumer Electronics Report Q1 2013
- Peru Consumer Electronics Report Q1 2013
- China Consumer Electronics Report Q1 2013
- Czech Republic Consumer Electronics Report Q1 2013
- Philippines Consumer Electronics Report Q1 2013
- Bahrain Consumer Electronics Report Q1 2013
- Malaysia Consumer Electronics Report Q1 2013
- Israel Consumer Electronics Report Q1 2013
- South Africa Consumer Electronics Report Q1 2013