Independent 5-year Consumer Electronics Industry Forecasts for Argentina

Argentina’s domestic consumer electronics devices market, defined as the addressable market for computing devices, mobile handsets and AV products, is projected at US$5.8bn in 2012. The market picked up in 2011, following a sharp deceleration the previous year and spending is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.1% to US$7.4bn by 2016, driven by demand for LCD TV sets, notebook computers, digital cameras and other key products, and also by rising incomes and greater credit availability.

Researchers expect Argentina's consumer electronics market to be relatively healthy in 2012, as current monetary and fiscal policies remain highly expansionary and double-digit inflation encourages consumers to spend rather than save their disposable income. However, they expect a moderation in growth compared with the situation in 2011, which was less reflective of strong economic fundamentals, but more the government's continued fiscal support to household incomes.

Meanwhile, the tax on luxury goods such as mobile phones and digital cameras introduced in December 2009 has boosted the share of local production in Argentine market sales of products ranging from notebooks to LCD TV sets.

Computers
Computer hardware accounted for about 48% of Argentine consumer electronics spending in 2011. Analysts forecast Argentine domestic market PC sales (including notebooks and accessories) of U$2.3bn in 2012. Computer hardware CAGR for the 2012-2016 period is forecast at about 7.4%, with PC penetration currently below 30%. The government has committed to procure 3mn notebooks for high school students over the next three years, but half the units must be manufactured locally.

AV
AV devices accounted for about 43% of Argentine consumer electronics spending in 2011. Argentina’s domestic AV device market is projected at US$2.5bn in 2012. Premium TV set sales were robust in 2011 and sales of LCD TV sets are projected to drive AV spending growth at a projected CAGR of 4.0% between 2012
and 2016. A US$2bn government plan for digital TV in the country will provide a boost to the market for TV sets and decoders.

Mobile Handsets
Mobile handset sales accounted for about 9% of Argentine consumer electronics spending in 2010. Argentine market handset sales are expected to grow at a CAGR of 8.6% to US$734mn in 2016, as mobile subscriber penetration has passed 140%. Argentina’s 3G market will be responsible for much of the mobile market’s growth, with subscribers already responding well to the new services on offer over 3G networks. Meanwhile, smartphones recorded strong growth in 2011, driven by the consumer segment.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Executive Summary

SWOT Analysis
Argentina Consumer Electronics Market SWOT
Argentina Political SWOT
Argentina Economic SWOT
Argentina Business Environment SWOT  

Risk/Reward Ratings
Table: Latin America Risk/Reward Ratings Q212

Consumer Electronics Market
Computers
Table: PC Sales, 2009-2016
AV Devices
Table: AV Sales, 2009-2016
Mobile Handsets  
Table: Mobile Communications, 2009-2016  

Consumer Electronics Industry
Table: Argentine Electronics Industry – Key Product Output (’000), 2008
Computers
AV  
Table: Argentine AV Products Domestic Output (’000), 2005-2009
Mobile Handsets  34
Table: Argentine Mobile Handset Domestic Output (’000), 2005-2008
Industry Forecast Scenario
Consumer Electronics Market
Table: Consumer Electronics Overview

Industry Developments
Macroeconomic Forecast
Table: Argentina – Economic Activity

Competitive Landscape
Computers
Handsets  
AV  

Company Profiles
Sicsa