Global Household Expenditure on Technical Consumer Equipment (TCE) Booms in 2007

2007 will witness 12.5% growth over 2006

Key message: Worldwide household expenditure on technical consumer equipment will top $618.6 billion USD in 2007.

The dynamic technical consumer equipment market is making headway due to new technology, booming economies and growth in emerging markets.

The results from a world market analysis by region since 2005, along with 2007 projections and forecasts for 2008, are released today. Key findings include:

• In terms of expenditure per household, the USA leads with an average of $1264 USD annually. This ratio is close to that of a Western European household ($1028 USD). Chinese households will have spent 10 times less in 2007.

• Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa all show a higher growth rate than the rest of the market. Asia and Oceania show 11.1% growth rate, Europe, the Middle East and Africa show 8.1% growth, while the Americas show only 5.8% growth.

• In 2008 China will represent 10% of the world market, positioning itself second to the USA, which holds 20% of share

• Japan, with a stable market, will find itself representing 5.6% of world sales, despite being the most advanced technological market in the world.

• India will also contribute towards the growth of technical consumer equipment.

Driven by New Technology: 60% of the global turnover in 2008 will be generated by mobile phone, LCD TVs and laptops. Portable products for individual usage (such as multipurpose mobile phones, PND, MP3 and MP4 players) show strong growth potential. In 2008, more than 1.6 billion such products will be purchased.

Importance of Brands: The top 10 brands will represent around 50% of the total market value in 2007.

Impact of Wealth: In regions with high average Gross Domestic Product, technology is replaced more quickly – most notably cathode ray televisions (CRT) replaced by flat panel versions, desktop computers by faster and more powerful notebooks.

Mobile Phones: Mobile phones tend to be replaced at least every 18 months, and in some areas as frequently as every 8 months (eg. in South Korea). In the case of Asian countries with higher populations and lower average GDP, the mobile phone remains the most popular electronic product.

Regional differences: Countries which are geographically close can show extreme differences in consumption and usage. For example, in Japan, a mature market for technical consumer equipment, the product-mix is similar to that of Western Europe or USA (eg. TV comprises 30% of the whole business). China, with its mammoth population of 1.3 billion people, has a completely different product-mix, with greater emphasis on mobile phones (see table below for more details).

2008 Predictions: 2008 forecasts by GfK, in collaboration with CEA, indicate moderate growth of +8.2%. In other words, consumers will spend $49 billion USD more on technical consumer equipment in 2008 over 2007. This is expected to come mostly from Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC countries), along with effective contribution from other regions, most notably Asia, Western Europe and North America.

China & Japan: Geographically Close But Diverse Market Structures (2008)

Global TCE Revenue & Growth by Region 2008