Vision - November/December 2007 - (Page 35)

”In a regIon fIlled wIth anxIetIes over sudden and massIve changes In all areas of lIfe, the burgeonIng Image world served to propagate modernIty.” with those words, the curators at the national gallery of art in washington, d.c., described the explosive appetite for the “new media” of the 1920s and 1930s—including photomontage and experimental film—in poland, hungary, czechoslovakia and the surrounding countries. the recent exhibition, called “foto: modernity in central europe,” summarized the region’s embrace of cutting-edge movements as “profoundly characteristic of modernity in central europe”. fast forward to the 21st century: an overhauled marketplace has emerged since the fall of the Iron curtain. the pent-up appetite for consumer products accompanied by growing income levels, but tempered by declining populations, has reshaped the economic landscape. these factors have fueled the expansion of consumer electronics sales throughout the region and attracted global suppliers to the central and eastern european phenomenon. To cite an example: in Hungary, a nation with about 10 million people, there are 9.4 million mobile phone accounts; Ukraine’s 47 million population carries 41 million mobile phones. Another indicator: in the Czech Republic, electronics manufacturing has nearly doubled since 1999, according to the U.S. Commercial Service, part of the Commerce Department. And yet another: Russia’s fast-growing middle class is a “dream market for retailers” and is the “world’s most attractive emerging retail market after India”, as measured by A. T. Kearney’s Global Retail Development Index. Since 2002, CE sales have grown annually at rates of about 6 percent in Russia, nearly 7 percent in Hungary, 6.5 percent in the Czech Republic, and even 5.2 percent in the more established Polish market. The Economist Intelligence Unit foresees comparable annual increases at least through 2011. “There’s still a lot of growth in that market,” explains Bart Somsen, a communications manager at JVC Europe Ltd. Reflecting on the limited product www.ce.org lines available during the Cold War era, he points out that Eastern European customers jumped “to upgrade to any brand” when the opportunity arose during the early and mid-1990s. Now, Somsen adds, consumers are even “more aware of brands”, which he calls an opportunity for global CE manufacturers. “Consumers in those markets are better informed, with better access to media,” he continues. As a result, they are “more brand conscious” and seek to upgrade their equipment. Predictably, the six countries are not identical in their abilities to establish and develop CE markets. Somsen notes the “logistics gap”, although he hastens to add that the “differences are quickly disappearing”. “Be careful [in] generalizing about Eastern Europe,” Somsen adds, citing the differences—most notably that the most developed nations have joined the European Union. In particular, Poland and Declining PoPulations in eastern euroPe Lithuania Russia Belarus 2005: 143.95 Million 2010: 140.32 Million Latvia Russia 2005: 10.19 Million 2010: 10.18 Million 2005: 38,2 Million 2010: 37.9 Million Czech Republic Slovenia Austria 2005: 10.09 Million 2010: 9.94 Million Ukraine 2005: 21.6 Million 2010: 21.1 Million Moldova Hungary Italy Slovenia Croatia Bosnia Romania Serbia Montenegro Macedonia Albania Bulgaria 2005: 46.9 Million 2010: 45.2 Million Germany Poland 35 http://www.ce.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Vision - November/December 2007

Vision - November/December 2007 Contents Shapiro's Spectrum In This Issue The Economist C4 Visionary Tech Speak Going Global Eye on Business Tech Policy Special Supplement: CES Unveiled 2008 CES Technologies to Watch Eastern Europe Embraces CE M&A Fest Displaying the Future CEA Newsline Market Insider Just the Stats

Vision - November/December 2007

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