Newsletter 2009-04

SWICO represents the interests of some 400 companies, which together employ over 34,000 staff and generate annual sales totalling more than Euro 12.5 billion. SWICO's members comprise SMEs and established large enterprises that are domiciled in Switzerland or the Principality of Liechtenstein and operate in the fields of information, communication, organisation and office technology, as well as consumer electronics.

According to our forecast, around 2.1 million Blu-ray players will be sold in the European Union. This is equivalent to an increase of 179 percent compared with last year.To this should be added several million Blu-ray drives which will be built into games consoles and computers. In buying this equipment, consumers are profiting from sharply reduced prices. Simple Blu-ray players are already available on the market at prices beginning from €150. Beside Blu-ray the download and streaming of films via internet become more and more important in the digital movie industry.
 

The largest single market for DVD players with high-resolution picture quality is Great Britain. Here, turnover for Blu-ray players is growing in the current year by 141 percent, to €171 million. This is followed by Germany, with an increase of 113 percent, to €93 million. The market in France will reach € 83 million (plus 82 percent), Italy, €22 million (plus 123 percent) and Spain, €11 million (plus 56 percent).