Newsletter 2009-05

In the beginning of June we will release new data and analyses on IT and telecom markets in Europe. This will include up-to-date estimates for 2009 and forecasts for 2010.

If you buy a 1-year subscription of our complete EITO Report today, we will grant an early bird discount. The subscription will enable you to obtain the current report plus two complete updates, one in June and the next one in autumn 2009. Get a discount of 20% on a 1-year subscription of our EITO Complete Report (including or excluding Consumer Electronics data). Simply use the voucher key "EarlyBird2009" during the purchase process to automatically receive the discount.

Good news for all our customers, who need more than one license within their company: We now offer corporate licenses, which may be used by multiple persons within the company. The license is valid unlimited for all company sites worldwide.

The decision to offer this new license type is a reaction to feedback from our customers. The regular EITO license is non transferable and may only be used by one person. This led to conflicts for some customers with international project teams.

If you are interested in purchasing a corporate license or upgrading your regular license, please contact customer service to receive your personal offer.

The European market for consumer electronics will contract in 2009 by around 9 percent and reach a total turnover value of € 62 billion, according to our newest data from GfK (Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung). This is the first reduction in the market for consumer electronics since the middle of the 1990‘s. “The reason for the fall has less to do with reduced consumer spending as a result of the economic crisis“, sais EITO Chairman Bruno Lamborghini. “The switch to digital in entertainment electronics has led to strong growth rates in recent years. This process is now nearly complete. In addition, there are no major sporting events this year like the European football championship and the Olympic Games in 2008.“

The contraction of the overall market is to be explained in particular by the decline in turnover for flat screen televisions. LCD and plasma-screen televisions account for 43 percent of the entire CE market. With 42 million sets (plus 3.1 percent), there are more flat-screen televisions being sold in the EU than ever before. Yet, according to the EITO forecast, turnover is declining by 10.3 percent, to € 26.3 billion. “Customers buying modern TV sets are profiting from falling prices“, sais Lamborghini. Turnover is also declining for digital cameras, MP3 players and navigation devices. There is an increase in turnover for Blu-ray players, digital set-top boxes for TV reception, and games consoles.

New impulses are expected from the increasing spread of home-networking. Home-networking refers to connecting different devices, such as computers, televisions, digital cameras, MP3 players and hi-fi equipment, with each other and to the Internet. “Consumers want to look at the photos and videos stored in the computer on the television, or to play music from an MP3 player with hi-fi equipment. Networking the devices makes this possible“, said Lamborghini. The EITO expects a new market worth billions to emerge in this area in years to come. The increasing frequency of high-definition television broadcasts and films in countries like Germany, France or Great Britain is providing a further impetus. “As consumers realise the advantages of the new television service with its better picture and sound quality, their interest in high-definition-compatible equipment will increase by leaps and bounds“, sais Lamborghini. This applied to large-format televisions as well as HD-enabled set-top boxes and hard-disc recorders.