TV sales boom ahead of Eid

Sales of locally made television set peak in Bangladesh ahead of the Eids thanks to people’s additional income during the festivals.

The local brand televisions dominate 60 to 70 per cent of the local market over their foreign peers.

Service holders get festival allowance while small and medium traders earn extra profit during the festivals and they spend a portion of it to buy the stuff they fancy, said the sellers.

Television manufacturers also come up with various offers to allure the customers. Alongside Eids, the television sellers also enjoy a quadrennial sales spree –football and cricket world cups.

Md Kamruzzaman Kamal, director (marketing) at PRAN-RFL Group, said TV sales peak on various occasions. “Sales peak during the two Eids, the before the World Cup tournaments of both football and cricket,” he said.

Md Salim Ullah, director (marketing) at Jamuna Electronics and Automobiles, said, “Almost 70 per cent of the total sales of the whole year, take place during the two Eid festivals. Our sales increased by 25 per cent compared to the last year’s Eid.”

The television market is worth around Tk 7,000 crore and the local brands dominate nearly 60-70 per cent of the market, said Md Sohel Khan, president of the Bangladesh Television Manufacturers Association. Televisions occupy more than 30 per cent of the market of total electronics products sold in Bangladesh, he added. Jamuna’s Salim Uddin also echoed Sohel Khan about the market size of televisions.

The market size was $414.22 million or Tk 3,313 crore in 2015, according to the Light Castle Primary Market Research.

Like other sectors, electronics, particularly televisions, also faced a severe blow for the Covid-19 pandemic but now the sector is rebounding.

The yearly demand for televisions in Bangladesh is approximately 25 lakh pieces, said Md Kamruzzaman Kamal, director (marketing) at PRAN-RFL Group.

He said year on year growth of their Vision brand television is nearly 30 per cent.

Among the notable local brands – Walton, Vision, Minister, My One, Jamuna, and Nova have dominance in the market. Major common foreign brands are – Sony, Samsung, Singer, LG, Panasonic, Toshiba, Philips, Sanyo, and Soumi.

A survey of Marketing Watch Bangladesh, a Dhaka University-based non-profit organisation, estimated that the size of the Bangladesh television market could reach $940 million or one billion in 2025.

Walton is the market leader holding around 35 per cent share of the television market and now it has around 27 models and among them, 32-inch models have more demand than others, said Md Tanbir Mahmud Shuvo, product manager of Walton Television.

Walton television is exported to 40 countries including Germany, Spain, Denmark, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, and Iraq.

Walton’s business coordinator for televisions Engineer Arman Ibn Shahjahann said the first three months of the current year, they sold nearly 1.50 lakh sets of television and the sales increased by nearly 25 per cent. He hoped the sales would increase by around 40 per cent at the end of the year. Prices of Walton’s TVs range between Tk 13,900 and Tk 94,900, he added.

Minister Group’s head of brand and communication, KMG Kibria, said sales of their television sets increased by more than 30 per cent ahead of Eid compared to the past year.

Total electricity coverage across the country and the affordable price of locally manufactured TVs increased the demand for TVs and boost the market gradually, said Md Mafizur Rahman, managing director of Philex Electronics.

The burgeoning middle-class people are now purchasing high-end smart LED TVs through EMI (Equated Monthly Instalment) facilities and many companies are now offering EMI facilities for grabbing the market, he added.

Engr Mohd Mohabbat Ullah, founder president of the Bangladesh Television Manufacturers Association, said though no company in Bangladesh can totally manufacture TVs in Bangladesh, very few companies are enjoying government facilities and most of the manufacturers remain deprived which triggered discrimination in the industry.