Large Cooking Appliances in Saudi Arabia

2020 IMPACT

COVID-19 and price spike weigh heavily on demand for large cooking appliances

There was a significant decline in retail volume sales of large cooking appliances in Saudi Arabia during 2020. COVID-19 played a significant role in this, as the economic uncertainty it engendered made many consumers more reluctant to purchase big-ticket items like large cooking appliances.

Discounting not enough to tempt consumers out of their shell

With demand very weak, the prices of many brands, such as Glemgas and GE, were discounted by distributors and retailers during 2020. However, this was not enough to tempt many consumers, as the impact of this discounting was outweighed by the increase in VAT.

Italian brands continue to lead, but innovation is lacking

Retail volume sales of large cooking appliances are dominated by international brands, particularly Italian ones like Glemgas and La Germania, which ranked first and second, respectively, in terms of retail volume share in 2020. These brands are distributed by local companies in Saudi Arabia, as there were no local manufacturers of large cooking appliances in the country at the end of the review period.

RECOVERY AND OPPORTUNITIES

Economic impact of COVID-19 likely to linger for a number of years

Retail volume sales of large cooking appliances will continue to decline over the course of the forecast period, albeit at a much slower pace than in 2020. The economic shock of the pandemic is likely to linger for a number of years so consumers will remain reluctant to purchase big-ticket items like large cooking appliances.

Middle- and high-income consumers will drive growth in demand for built-in large cooking appliances

There will be buoyant growth in retail volume sales of built-in large cooking appliances during the forecast period, as housing completions begin to grow again and more people move home. Middle- and high-income consumers are becoming more interested in design and interior decoration, and this trend is likely to deepen during the forecast period.

E-commerce will continue to grow in significance, as investment increases and consumers become more comfortable with it

The pandemic led to a doubling of retail volume sales of large cooking appliances through the e-commerce channel, albeit from quite a low base, and this channel is forecast to continue to grow in importance during the forecast period. A small, but growing number of local consumers are now more comfortable shopping online.