When the Spaniards lanced Italy 4-0 with a clinical display, it meant that nation was now the world and European champions. The Spaniards were ecstatic at the end of the championship and so were the white goods retailers in Goa. They were happy with the sales of television sets in the run up to the championship and during it. The rest of the country may be cricket country with a passing interest in football but Goa is the only State where the period before a football championship is looked forward by the white goods retail community.
Felipe Alvares of Prime Electronics an outlet based in Panjim said he was looking forward to the championship as well as the period before the tournament because it would mean an increase in the sale of tv sets.
Felipe said “Goa is the only State I am told, where the sale of televisions register a decent growth in the run up to a football tournament.” When asked if the increase in the sale of television sets was perceptible during such periods, he replied with a very enthusiastic yes.
According to him there was a 10% increase in the sale of television sets during such periods. Another retailer in the south who did not want to come on record said such periods were a godsend given the poor sentiment prevalent in the market. He said “The general sentiment is so poor but during such periods, television sets sell very fast. I will go as far as to say during the world cup in Brazil, my sales in increased by 20% which was incredible. And yes please remember they were all the tvs priced well over Rs 70,000. I hope something similar happens now. Business has been very slow and the spread of e-commerce has not helped.”
Sudesh Sheytye of Shetye Sales Syndicate one of the largest retail outlets for white goods in the state said there would be a very slight increase in sales but it would not make a substantial mark on his bottom line. He seemed quite enthused by the sale of air conditioners during the hot summers. When asked how much if any change he expected in the sale of television sets he said “Anywhere between 3 and 5% which is not much. Yes, if you want to call it a jump, yes there is a slight jump but not much.”
Royson Alfonso of Vailankanni Panasonic based in the south hoped the championship would mean sales of television sets. He said “It has been bad so far with business very poor. This year has not been encouraging. I hope like the period before the world cup in Brazil, there was a rush to buy television sets. During that period there was an increase of approximately 10% in sales. I hope there will be something similar this time. The championship begins on the 10Th and usually there is a rush two or three days prior to the opening ceremony. I hope there is a similar rush this year too. I believe there will be a 10% increase in sales. It is my gut feel”.
With regards to the size of the market, numbers varied amongst the retailers but the common consensus was that flat panel tv sets were very popular and would take a large portion of the 3500 to 4000 sets sold every month. Felipe said this number was a close approximation of the numbers generated month on month in the State. Business, he admitted had been very slow but he hoped the Goan consumer would replicate their behaviour of the past few years and buy a new television set. And yes, on a lighter note he strongly believes Germany will walk away with the cup doing justice to their undoubted talent.
