Retail chains sharply increased the prices of household appliances after the fall of the ruble

The collapse of the ruble by 20% against the dollar and the euro since the beginning of the year led to an increase in the prices of large household appliances in Russia.

On average, since April, prices have increased by 8-10% of both goods that are officially delivered to the country and products imported through parallel imports, writes Kommersant, referring to distributors and retailers.

In particular, from April 7 to 12, M.Video increased the prices of Samsung TVs (from 64.9 thousand rubles and a discount of 5 thousand rubles to 74.9 thousand rubles) and Gorenje refrigerators (from 41.9 thousand to 53.9 thousand rubles).

Chinese manufacturer of HVAC equipment Hisense notified stores of a 4-8% price increase from April 12, the Gorenje brand announced a 5% price increase from May 1, and China’s Midea warned that it would increase prices for Toshiba’s large-format and embedded media hardware starting March 20 and Comfee “Average 5%”.

The main reason for the increase in prices is the weakening of the ruble, says the commercial director of Holodilnik.ru Alexei Pogudalov. “All transactions are made in dollars and euros, so the cost of this equipment will increase,” he notes.

Head of the representative office of the manufacturer of household appliances Candy-Hoover Group in Russia, Gleb Mishin noticed that their company is forced to raise the prices of its products due to the exchange rate. “When it comes to electronics manufactured in Russia, everything will depend on the level of localization,” Mishin said.

At the same time, the prices of home appliances over the past two months have already increased by about 10% due to currency fluctuations, say F + tech-Marvel Group of Companies. “Serious shortages”, such as Samsung TV sets, also contribute to the increase in prices. and LG, which are supplied by parallel imports, analysts say.

Electronics manufacturers have always been strongly dependent on exchange rate fluctuations – says Anton Guskov, representative of the Association of Trading Companies and Manufacturers of Electrical Household and Computer Equipment RATEK.

“Based on the experience from the beginning of 2022, when the price of some electronic devices doubled, it can be said that further increases or decreases in prices will depend, among other things, on long-term fluctuations in exchange rates. If the growth continues, the cost of equipment will also increase, ”summed up Guskov.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov called the “absolutely normal” depreciation of the ruble against the dollar by more than 4 rubles. and more than 6 rubles. to the euro from the beginning of April. In total, since the beginning of the year, the dollar on the Moscow Stock Exchange has become more expensive by 13 rubles, and the euro by 16 rubles. As a result, the ruble was among the world’s weakest currencies, along with the Zambian kwacha and the Egyptian pound.