Larger sales for small appliances

French producer SEB, whose brand portfolio includes Moulinex, Rowenta and Krups, estimates sales of small home appliances (irons, electric grills, mixers, food processors, toasters or juice extractors) to reach 15 million euros this year. “We expected sales to increase 25%-30% last year, but the better-than-expected performance of the market allowed us to double sales and exceed 10 million euros,” Romel Rotaru, SEB country manager for Romania said. He sees sales going up this year, as well, even though not as much as they did last year. “I think 2003 was a landmark for the Romanian home appliances market and implicitly for small appliances. We anticipate 35%-50% growth for the sales in Romania this year, against a market growth of 30%-40%,” Rotaru said. SEB estimates its share of the Romanian small appliances market to reach 25%-30%. SEB sells four of its brands, Moulinex, Rowenta, Krups and Tefal, in Romania. “Moulinex and Tefal account for most of our sales – more than one third each, with Rowenta and Krups covering the rest,” Rotaru added. ZF