Schrumpfkur after fat years.

If current sales fall, is often the economic crisis as a reason. Not so with the entertainment industry. While the business with cameras, MP3 players and navigation devices shrink the first time in years. The industry sees itself not as a crisis victims.

 

Lange was a successful consumer electronics industry. Revenues increased from year to year. 2009 is now threatening a massive slump. The market is estimated by the industry association Bitkom shrinking by seven percent and a sales volume of 12.5 billion euros. Because the Germans have in recent years as many new equipment purchased to meet the needs for digital innovations initially met seems.

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Flatscreen TVs at Cebit: Although the sales of the new TVs is going well, expects the electronics industry for 2009, with declining revenues

"The reason for the minus in the market is less a result of consumer restraint of the economic crisis," said Vice President Bitkom Achim Berg. "The digitization of consumer electronics has increased in recent years at very strong, often double-digit growth run. This process is now almost complete."

In addition, missing major events, which encouraged new acquisitions. If there is no football World Cup is taking place, fans will need no new flatscreen TV or projector to view the games in large format to follow. Even the prices of many devices is regarded as vital that the industry will take less.

These effects together make sure that the sales first time in years no longer grow. Across Europe should be the saturation of demand even greater impact. Sales of entertainment devices would decline in the European Union by an average of nine percent to 62 billion euros, said the association Bitkom, relying on data from market researcher GfK and EITO with.

Despite the forecast for shrinking sales, the industry believe that 2009 years in Germany as many flat screen TVs sold like never before. According to Bitkom information should it be 7.1 million units - 7.4 percent more than the 2008th Yet it is also important market segment for LCD and plasma TVs, which measure sales at 43 percent of consumer electronics market, with falling revenue remains. Because the price of a new flat screen TV is Bitkom information on average by ten percent to around 750 euros fall.

New opportunities for growth, the industry will face in the home networking - but only in the coming years. Then in this segment has been estimated by the Bitkom billion, a new market. "Consumers want their computer to the stored photos and videos on your TV, or with the hi-fi MP3 music from investors to play," said Berg. Even more TV shows and movies, in high definition quality (HD) are shown, the industry could get a boost.

For 2008, Bitkom had reported record revenues. With the proceeds from the transaction with digital devices rose by 4.3 percent to 12.3 billion euros. The overall market for entertainment created a sales increase of 2.3 per cent to 13 billion euros.