Manufacturers of household appliances and electronics began to raise prices following the rise in the dollar

Manufacturers of household appliances and electronics against the backdrop of rising euro and dollar for the second time since the beginning of the year raise prices. On average, retailers are talking about a 10-15% increase in the purchase price of products across a range of brands, including Beko, Tefal, Lex, and others. Some vendors confirm such plans. Market participants believe that the price increase will be higher in retail as a result of retailers trying to maintain the level of profitability. The overwhelming majority of deliveries of equipment to the Russian Federation are indeed still paid in foreign currency, experts say. They expect the most active and rapid growth in prices for electronics – there are Russian factories and warehouse stocks for household appliances.

“Kommersant” got acquainted with several letters that manufacturers of household appliances and electronics began to send to distributors this week. They talk about the increase in purchase prices due to changes in foreign exchange rates.

The euro and dollar exchange rates have been growing rapidly in recent days, on July 5 the dollar overcame the bar of 91 rubles, the euro – 99 rubles. Both values ​​have reached their maximum since the end of March 2022 (see Kommersant of July 5 and p. 8). In mid-April, chain stores have already received similar letters from electronics manufacturers. Then the companies also raised purchase prices by 8-10% against the backdrop of a rise in the price of the currency (see Kommersant dated April 14).

The receipt of such letters, in particular, “Kommersant” was confirmed by the commercial director of Holodilnik.ru Alexei Pogudalov. He names Archelik (brands Beko, Grundig, Indesit, etc.), the SEB-Vostok group (Tefal, Moulinex, Rowenta), Maunfeld, Lex and others among the manufacturers that have announced price increases. In particular, the letter from SEB-Vostok speaks of an increase in the cost of equipment by an average of 10% from August 4th. In SEB-Vostok, Archelik, Maunfeld and Lex did not respond to requests from Kommersant.

The head of the representative office in Russia of Candy-Hoover Group (part of the Chinese Haier Group) Gleb Mishin said that due to the exchange rate, the company “has to raise retail prices by 15%.”

An increase in the purchase price of equipment is also being considered at Schaub Lorenz, the company confirmed: “We need to accurately calculate the growth in the exchange rate and determine how much the price will rise.” At the same time, retail prices, Schaub Lorenz specified, may increase even more, since “some retailers and sellers may have different margins.”

The growth of prime cost due to the instability of the exchange rate will affect all household appliances and electronics, I am sure the representative of the Association of Trading Companies and Producers of Electrical Household and Computer Equipment RATEK (unites M.Video-Eldorado, Huawei, LG, Samsung, etc.) Anton Guskov, since “the vast majority of deliveries of imported equipment in the Russian Federation is paid in foreign currency.”

The rise in prices will most affect products that are not produced in the Russian Federation, namely smartphones, laptops and tablets, Mr. Pogudalov adds: “New price tags for these devices can be expected as early as next week, the cost will rise by 10–15%.” He adds that the rise in prices for home appliances will begin in mid-August, as retailers “still have unsold inventory.”

According to Alexey Pogudalov, if the exchange rates do not stabilize and there is no correction, despite the rise in price, we can expect a short-term surge in demand for equipment. This is exactly what happened in the spring of 2022: citizens were buying, fearing further price increases.

Timofey Kornev