Hire purchase triples Altex sales

Electronics and home appliances retailer Altex posted 40 million euro sales in the first half, up 185% from the 14 million euros in the same time of last year. “The hire purchase systems were the drive behind this sales growth in H1. The surge of the hire purchase systems at the end of last year maintained in the first half, particularly because interests went down,” Dan Ostahie, Altex general manager said. He added the instalments accounted for more than half of the total sales of the network. “The hire purchase is not only for those that cannot afford to buy electronics, it is a way to avoid overburdening the family budget by distributing these expenses over a longer period of time,” Ostahie explained. If the trend maintains in H2, sales might reach about 100 million euros, instead of the 70 million euro target set early in the year, the Altex official feels. ZF