IFA 2018: Innovations and Emerging Markets Drive the Value of MDA

According to the GfK, in the first six months of 2018, the global major domestic appliances (MDA) market reached another positive growth of 3.5 percent.

For the full year, GfK expects total sales of €178 billion. That is a solid 2.2 percent more than last year, assuming a fixed Euro exchange rate. The main trends contributing to this growth are multifunctional appliances, connectivity, online retail and strong sales dynamics in emerging economies.

On top of the global sales increase last year, which was already 2.6 percent, this year there is another robust growth of 2.2 percent. In the first half of 2018, it is the recoveries in Russia (+11 percent) and in LATAM (+9 percent) that are particularly exceptional. Also APAC stayed on a growth track contributing 66 percent of the total growth.

This is achieved with the help of the giant Chinese market, but also champions like Vietnam (+21 percent) demonstrate outstanding opportunities. Here, supported by a strong economy and low inflation, sales of refrigerators and washing machines are constantly increasing in this emerging country. After ten years of turnover growth the German market is currently taking a breather, however, still remains the third largest MDA market in the world.

Growing wealth, especially in developed countries, meets with a high willingness to invest in technical consumer goods. Hence, an increasing share of budgets are quite premium and allow purchases of recent innovations. Exceptional value drivers are hobs with integrated hoods, at an average selling price of more than €2,500, which contributed to steep sales uplifts of more than 50 percent in the first half year 2018.

In Germany, hobs with integrated hoods kept growing by 36 percent in the first half of 2018, already accounting for a quarter of the total built-in hobs turnover in the country. Further appreciated value features are temperature sensors in hobs, refrigerators with multi-doors and washing machines with drying functions. Overall, sales in the premium segment above €800 grew by eleven percent and now almost every fifth Euro is spent in this price class.