TV sales increased by 28% at the end of 2023

The number of televisions sold in the Russian Federation in 2023 increased by 28%, to 8.7 million devices, retailers said. According to their data, the Chinese Haier became the leader, displacing South Korean Samsung and LG from the first positions; in quantitative terms, they were also overtaken by Hisense and Xiaomi. The only Russian brand that took a significant share in sales was Sber. Experts suggest that Chinese vendors will continue to aggressively increase their market presence in the coming year through price competition.

At the end of 2023, sales of televisions in Russia increased in units by 28%, to 8.7 million devices, and in money by 13%, to 229 billion rubles, Holodilnik.ru told Kommersant. The first place both in units and in money was taken by Chinese Haier, increasing its shares to 11.4% (by 3.3 percentage points year-on-year) and 15.9% (by 6.7 percentage points), respectively. Xiaomi (from 1% to 6.7% in units and to 6.8% in money) and Hisense (from 3.6% to 5.9% and from 3.9% to 8.8%) also increased their presence on the market. respectively).

The only Russian vendor that took a significant share was Sber: its share increased from less than 1% to 2% in units and to 2.6% in money. “We are really seeing rapid growth in the popularity of TVs with our operating system among consumers,” Sberbank confirmed to Kommersant. Yandex, which did not occupy a significant market share, assured that in 2024 the company will increase its share in TV sales through “development of the flagship product and expansion of the model range.”

M.Video-Eldorado talks about an increase in unit sales of televisions by 30% year-on-year, the total number of units sold was “slightly less than 9 million.” Alexey Nikonov, head of the Cinema and Sound department of the M.Video-Eldorado group, clarified that Haier also became the leader in the network, and its own Hi brand entered the top five. “The trend of redistribution of demand from former leaders – Korean brands towards manufacturers from China, who offer current technologies in models from basic to premium, has become more obvious,” added Mr. Nikonov.

The share of former market leaders LG and Samsung fell by more than half, both in units and in money. So, if in 2022 Samsung occupied 10.9% of the market in units, and LG – 10.3%, then at the end of 2023 these figures decreased to 4.6% and 5.3%, respectively. In terms of money, the performance of South Korean brands over the year decreased from 21.5% to 12.2% for Samsung and from 19.1% to 9.7% for LG. However, judging by Holodilnik.ru data, both brands are still in the top 5 in TV sales in Russia.

The drop in performance of South Korean vendors is due both to the cessation of official deliveries and to the fact that Chinese devices with a similar set of characteristics are more affordable, says Arthur Makhlayuk, a business analyst at the Fplus IT holding. He, however, emphasizes that LG and Samsung manage to maintain market shares due to sales of premium TVs and maintaining a skeptical attitude towards Chinese brands among some buyers: “Most likely, sales of Korean brands have stabilized and will remain at the same level in 2024.”

Finam Financial Group analyst Leonid Delitsin believes that LG and Samsung will not be able to regain their share in the Russian market without serious marketing investments, while Chinese brands, on the contrary, will aggressively support their products in the Russian Federation. Among domestic manufacturers, in his opinion, “only a company with a similar size of customer base can impose competition on Sber,” for example, Yandex, VK and cellular operators.

According to independent expert Alexander Surkov, sales growth in 2023 is associated with the relative recovery of the market against the backdrop of low figures in 2022. He agrees that Chinese vendors are “ready to aggressively increase their share in the Russian market,” primarily through pricing policy. However, the expert clarifies, Chinese manufacturers “are pragmatic and are determined to occupy all niches, including the premium segment, so in the future we can expect an increase in prices and, consequently, market growth in terms of money.” This, Mr. Surkov adds, can be helped by monthly payments to SVO participants: “Many citizens previously could not afford expensive electronics.”

Timofey Kornev