Romanians pay a month's wage on a refrigerator

In the last two years, Romania has been through troubled times, with declines of hundreds of thousands of euros. The purchasing power collapse changed many consumer options, considering that for the acquisition of a fridge alone, a Romanian parted with a monthly wage.

Adrian and Magda Ionescu last year bought a two-room apartment in the Nicolae Grigorescu area of Bucharest. The recently married couple only bought the necessities: a gas cooker, a washing machine, a refrigerator, an LCD TV and a few smaller home appliances.

“We bought only what was strictly necessary because we did not have the money. We spent more than half the wage on the refrigerator alone,” says Ionescu, specifying they will replace the home appliances they bought only when they broke down.

In 2009 and 2010, the crisis was reflected in consumer behavior in that they bought home appliances only out of necessity, often in order to replace goods that were no longer working, writes Business Magazin weekly.

“Romanians have also been very price-sensitive, preferring promotional offers and price cuts. In addition, we’re seeing a decline in sales of freestanding products, which are being replaced by built-in appliances,” says Adrian Olteanu, general manager of electronics and home appliances chain Flanco.