TV sales fail to hit usual heights ahead of FIFA WC

The demand for large-screen and premium-branded television sets has shot up as sports-loving fans are enthusiasts to enjoy the FIFA World Cup scheduled to begin on Sunday in Qatar.

The sales are falling short of expectations this time due to the looming threat of an economic crisis, triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and the Ukraine war, according to vendors.

On the other hand, the sale of small-screen TV sets failed to gain momentum like previous year as many of the consumers are struggling to survive due to the high living cost amid worldwide economic crises.

The sales were not as high as those were in the previous football world cups but satisfactory as the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup and FIFA World Cup are being held back to back, according to several sellers.

Moreover, the prices of television sets shoot up by at least 10% per cent compared to those of the last several years.

To attract customers, the manufacturers came up with different discounts on purchases and offered gifts to boost sales which eventually helped them to keep the television demand up this year.

While talking to this correspondent, Md. Mehdi Hasan, in charge of Rangs Electronics Ltd at Bashundhara City Shopping Complex, said that the demand for television sets shot up during the world cup. “But we are witnessing a low sale this year,” he added.  

The giant-screen televisions are in high demand among consumers this year, he added.

“We managed to sell at least 20 pieces each day in the previous world cups. This year the sales are not similar. We managed to sell 15 television sets the day before. We had a target to sell at least 150 pieces of television sets this time,” he added.

Although the consumers are struggling due to ongoing economic crises, they are not abstaining from purchasing television sets due to their craziness to enjoy the world cup without facing any disturbance, he said adding that many of the sellers had almost closed to their sales target.

Md Firoz Alam, assistant manager of Minister-My One Park at Lalbagh in Dhaka, said that they are enjoying significant sales.

He also said that his company is offering a 50% discount on LED television sets. They also present lucrative offers including scratch cards from which customers can win a trip to Qatar.  There are also exchange offers. Returning an old TV set, a customer can enjoy a discount of up to Tk5,000.

“We have set a target to sell at least 60 televisions. In the meantime, we have managed to sell 49 pieces. We are hopeful to sell more than 60 pieces this month, he added.

The TV manufacturers came up with different discount offers and gifts to boost their sales to win the consumers amid economic crises.

Saddam Hossain, Sales Executive of Singer Plus at Lalbag, said that they have introduced different offers including offering favourite team jerseys, cash discounts, and a lottery to boost sales.

Many consumers are rushing to the electronic shops to enjoy discounts, he added.

“This year, we have a target to sell at least 200 televisions. We are very close to reaching the target,” he added.

On the other hand, companies are giving an opportunity to exchange television sets with a new one.

Md Chunnu Mia, a businessman at Lalbagh who was exchanging a television set, said, “The screen of my television is not satisfactory. I want to enjoy the world cup with a clear view and this is why I have exchanged my television for a new one.”