The recession "burns" mobile prices

A large number of mobile agents and merchants in Egypt resorted to burning devices in order to break the stagnation in the local market, and the decrease in the volume of sales as a result of the imposition of customs duties 10 %on new shipments, in addition to the ability to achieve the targeted sales "sage" in exchange for obtainingCommunication and profitability rates scheduled annually.

Mohamed Arafa, the commercial director of the company «Speed Tech», the agent of the two commercial brands, said that the majority of the mobile workers have tended to reduce the prices of products by proportions ranging from 20 %to the official lists in order to drain their inventory and work to manageFinancial resources are sufficient to pay the operating costs, foremost of which are the benefits of bank loans.

Arafa added that sales of the mobile phone market lost more than 70 %of the total results of the sector over the past two months;This is the result of the successive price increases witnessed by the majority of the brands offered within the local market due to the high import costs that resulted from the imposition of new customs duties on mobile devices by 10 %..

He pointed out that some local companies have stopped launching marketing and promotional campaigns on their products in order to reduce costs and the inability to determine the targeted plans for the new year, stressing that most companies also resorted to promoting their products by providing credit facilities in cooperation with consumer financing companies and banks in light of providing a packageFrom programs and installments that meet all customer requirements.

He explained that it is difficult to expect about the performance of sales of the mobile phone market during the coming period in light of the fog that controls the sector, especially the decline in the quantities produced and exported by the international factories, in addition to the continued stagnation of sales that have confused the accounts of workers in the field and the inability to prepare the targeted plansFor the new year.

For his part, Mohamed Al -Haddad, deputy head of the Communications Centers and Mobile Chamber of the Chamber of Commerce in Giza, stressed that the vast majority of mobile merchants had to reduce their products prices in order to break the stagnation in the local market in the weak sales movement, in addition to the ability to achieve the target sales annually.Targat ».

He explained that although mobile traders reduce the models of various brands, the volume of demand by consumers is still very weak - as he put it as a result of the decline in the purchasing power of the consumer due to the increase in prices approved by companies after applying customs duties to new phones shipments by 10 %.

He believed that the trend prevailing in the mobile market is currently based on providing price cuts on the devices in order to drain the stock, as well as activate the capital cycle.

Mohamed Al -Mahdi, a member of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Commerce in Cairo, and one of the mobile phones dealers, hinted that the results of the sector's business witnessed its lowest level during the month of December as a result of the case of confusion resulting from the instability of prices by companies and traders after entering the government’s decision to impose 10 %on shipmentsThe new phones are in effect.

He pointed out that all merchants suffer from great financial pressure in light of the weak sales movement that has reached levels that amount to extreme stagnation, saying: “All shops and commercial chains complain of the customer’s absence from buying today” as he put it.

He emphasized that a large group of merchants provided price discounts on their mobile phones in light of working to drain their inventory and revitalize the capital cycle, explaining that there are some phone companies that are still obligating the merchants to achieve the targeted sales of "Tajat" in exchange for obtaining commissions and profitability rates for monthly.

In the same context, Issam Badr Al -Din, the executive director of the trade union committee for mobile traders, stressed that the majority of workers in the mobile phone market provided price discounts on their products at lower prices than the official lists issued by their local agents;In order to stimulate the movement of sale and work to manage financial resources through which the operating costs and bank benefits can be paid.

He explained that the sales of the mobile market declined during last December by 90 %as it is estimated, coinciding with the weak purchasing power of consumers resulting from the high rate of inflation and the increase in prices in addition to the high interest rates on installments to the current time between 25 to 30 %.

He added that the mobile market witnessed a state of severe confusion coinciding with the announcement of the decision to impose customs duties on imported mobile phones by 10 %, which led to all phone companies to raise the prices of their products, in addition to the suspension of the movement of sale by merchants and consumers for a period of one week.

He expected that the prices of mobile phones in Egypt will witness stability for various brands during the coming period, due to the direction of most agents and distributors to promote their products by providing marketing offers and credit facilities on their products in cooperation with financing companies and banks, indicating that the mobile workers suffer from twice the courseCapital in light of the continued stagnation of the sales movement.

According to the reports of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, the value of phone imports to Egypt decreased by 10 %to reach one billion and 238 million and 169 thousand dollars during the first nine months of this year, compared to about one billion and 378 million and 161 thousand in the corresponding period of the previous year.