Home ›› 25 Feb 2022 ›› Front
The locally manufactured or assembled consumer electronic appliance market has doubled in the past five years and 80 per cent of the market is dominated by local products thanks to investors and the increased purchase power of middle-class and lower-middle-class people.
Considering economic growth, Bangladeshi investors are coming forward to invest in the electronics sectors,
Md Sanaullah Shahid, president of Bangladesh Electronics Merchants Association told The Business post.
He said in 2022 Bangladesh’s import of consumer electronic appliances decreased by at least 80 per cent compared to 2016 and now the local product dominates more than 8o per cent of the local electronics market.
In 2016, the consumer electronics market size was $1.8 billion, according to a research on ‘The Electronics Sector in Bangladesh’ conducted by the Indian high commission.
Now the size of the market is about Tk 400 core and more than 70 per cent of the market is dominated by the local product which was totally opposite in 2016, said Md Salim Ullah, director of marketing, Jamuna Electronics and Automobiles.
Bangladeshi business data provider databd.co forecast that the country’s local consumer electronics market is expected to grow to $5.17 billion by 2025.
Another investment firm, UCB Asset Management forecast that the electronic goods industry will touch the $10 billion mark by 2030 if the industry grows at a rate of 17 per cent annually.
Khurshed Ali Mollah, president of the Bangladesh Electronic Manufacturers Association, said nationwide electrification and spreading of information technology contributed to the widening the market that features refrigerators, air-conditioners, and home appliances including washing machines, microwave ovens, and kitchen appliances.
“The consumer electronic market in the country is now more than double than what it was five years ago,” he said.
Gouranga Dey, general secretary of the Bangladesh Electronics Merchants Association, told The Business Post that the electronics industry in Bangladesh is expanding every day riding on consumer demand. At least 10 lakh people are involved with the industry, directly and indirectly, he said.
The major players in the consumer electronics market are Walton of Walton Group, Vision of PRAN RFL Group, Minister of MyOne Electronics Industries Ltd, Jamuna Electronics, Transcom Electronics Ltd, Rangs Electronics Ltd, Best Electronics Ltd, Esquire Electronics Ltd, and Electra International, etc.
KMG Kibria, head of brand and communication of Minister Group, said till 2019, the growth of their consumer electronics product was around 50 per cent year on year but the pandemic slightly held back the growth which is now gearing up in the new normal economy.
He said the current situation of the consumer electronic market is better than any time in the past. “The market has increased more than double thanks to local manufacturers. Now local manufacturers are making standard products which are not only cheap but also durable,” he added.
Walton Home Appliances Chief Business Officer Al Imran said the affordable price of local products with people’s increased purchase power and changing lifestyle boosted the market.
Mohammad Naveed Ahmed, managing director of Miyako Appliance Limited, said despite the market’s widening double, the turnover of locally manufactured products is not increasing as the local products are much cheaper.
Reasons behind market growth
Alongside almost total electrification across Bangladesh and steady economic growth, a sharp rise of nuclear families and working women also pushed the demand for consumer electronics up as the demand for automation in household chores increased, said Md Salim Ullah, director of marketing, Jamuna Electronics.
Once consumer electronics products were considered as ‘high-end’ luxury products but now they became regular household necessities.
Most of the companies provide the consumers with offers like EMI (Equal Monthly Installments) without any extra profit from the definite price where both sellers and buyers have benefited and the market also increased, said KMG Kibria head of brand and communication at Minister Group.
Most sold Products
Jamuna Electronics marketing director Md Salim Ullah said more than 45 per cent of products they sold over the past five years were refrigerators.
“Refrigerator is our key product among white goods segment. We have sold almost 50 per cent of the refrigerators considering our total sales over the years,” said KMG Kibria, head of brand and communication at Minister Group.
Mohammad Naveed Ahmed of Miyako Appliance Limited Bangladesh said their most sold product in the past couple of years were blenders and grinders.
Tech giant Walton sold near 50 lakh units of refrigerators, three lakh unit air conditioners in the past couple of years. They also sold one million television sets. For home appliances, they experience 35 per cent year on year growth.
