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

Boston, MA -- (SBWire) -- 11/20/2013 --Growth in Saudi Arabia's consumer electronics market remained strong in H113 on the back of healthy private consumption and continued investment in IT systems by businesses and government agencies. One underlying factor in this growth story is the increasing use of internet-based services for communication, information and entertainment by consumers. We expect this to be a key growth driver in the audio-visual segment, where vendors are already reporting strong demand big-ticket TV sets and home cinema systems, as well as the handsets segments, where smartphones sales are expected to maintain an upward trajectory over our five-year forecast period to 2017.

Headline Expenditure Projections

- Computer Hardware Sales: US$2.2bn in 2013 to US$2.6bn by 2017. Lower PC sales growth in early 2013 still weighs on our forecast, but this will partly be offset by strong tablets sales during the same period.
- AV Sales: US$3.4bn in 2013 to US$4.6bn in 2017. The latest flat-screen TVs and home cinema systems will continue to generate strong growth in the country's outlook and maintain AV as the key component of the consumer electronics market.
- Handset Sales: US$1.2bn in 2013 to US$1.6bn by 2017 as smartphones and connected devices for internet usage gain in popularity. Vendors are bringing devices to the market more quickly than previously, catering to the strong demand for the latest developments in the market.

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Key Trends And Developments

LG revealed in August 2013 that it was targeting sales in Saudi Arabia of more than 100,000 units of its latest smartphone, the G2, which was due to be launched by the end of September.

Consumer electronics retail chain Emax, part of the UAE-based Landmark Group, revealed that it was planning to expand its footprint across Saudi Arabia by opening four new stores in the kingdom before the end of August 2013. The stores will cover an area of 50,000ft2 and trade under the brand Al-Bander Trading. They will target business and consumer segments with various product categories, including audio-visual, smartphones, PCs and laptops, and gaming. Emax describes the new store openings as part of an aggressive expansion strategy under which it aims to establish presence in every city in the kingdom in the next three years. The four new stores will take the total number of Emax stores to 20 in Saudi Arabia.

In common with other GCC states, Saudi Arabia recorded a slowdown in PC sales during the first half of 2013, mainly due to strong demand for tablets, smartphones and lower-cost ultrabooks. At the same time, the implementation in 2013 of the government's so-called 'Nitaqat policy' - which makes it mandatory for local companies to hire one Saudi national for every 10 migrant workers - has disrupted sales at the retail level, by casting a spotlight on people who had been working without a valid work permit.

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