Electrical retail - European Football Championship boosts business with TV sets at Expert
The electronics retailer Expert profits from the European Football Championship. Due to the fact that many fans equipped themselves with new TV sets during the tournament, which has been running since mid-June, television sales have seen a significant increase in recent times, according to Expert CEO Stefan Müller during the balance sheet presentation in Langenhagen near Hannover. Given the continued strong purchasing restraint of many customers, this is a positive sign.
Expert sold 71 percent more televisions in June than in the same month in 2023, Müller stated. The most notable increase occurred in the two weeks leading up to the tournament start, during which more than double the number of televisions were sold compared to the previous year. And if Germany wins the quarterfinals against Spain on Friday, "that could certainly give another push," Müller added.
Customers paid more for the devices as well. On average, Expert customers paid 1,040 euros per device in the first week of June, nearly 300 euros more than in the same calendar week the previous year. Large LCD monitors over 80 inches in screen diagonal were particularly in demand, with nearly four times as many sold in June compared to the previous year. The sales of OLED screens over 77 inches also almost tripled.
No sustainable trend reversal
Expert was able to increase its external sales by 2.4 percent in May and June compared to the previous year. However, Müller does not see a sustainable end to the purchasing restraint in this. "The purchases are mainly just brought forward. That's not a trend reversal," the Expert CEO stated. After all: "Those who buy a new TV set now won't be buying one for Christmas."
Müller expects a small plus in total sales in the current business year 2024/25, which still runs until the end of March 2025. Given the uncertain economic situation, customers continued to hold back on new purchases. However, there are signs of improvement. "We don't expect a trend reversal and economic recovery until at least the second half of 2025."
Sales decline due to consumption lull
In the previous business year, the group's internal sales, which it made with its affiliated dealers, shrank by 0.3 percent to 2.23 billion euros. "Given the tense environment, that's a satisfactory result," Müller said. However, sales to customers actually shrank by 2.7 percent. Computers and IT sold poorly. However, they managed to undercut the market.
Expert is a cooperation of legally independent specialist dealers who obtain their goods through the cooperative. Recently, there were 186 shareholders with a total of 385 locations. 67 of these are run by Expert itself, while the others are run by independent retailers. Together, they employ 14,000 people.
- The European Football Championship taking place in Germany has positively influenced electronics retailer Expert in Hanover, particularly in the sales of televisions.
- Despite being located in Lower Saxony, Expert saw a significant increase in television sales during the tournament, with 71% more units sold in June compared to the same month in 2023.
- Expert's CEO, Stefan Müller, mentioned that there was a noteworthy surge in television sales in the two weeks leading up to the tournament, with more than double the number of sets sold compared to the previous year.
- The Europen Football Championship has also seen an increase in the demand for large LCD monitors over 80 inches and OLED screens over 77 inches, with nearly four times and almost triple the number of units sold, respectively, compared to the previous year.
- Expert's retail locations, including those in Spain and Langenhagen, have experienced an increase in sales due to the European Football Championship, with customers showing interest in purchasing electronics, particularly televisions, for the tournament.
