UK consumer electronics market heads Europe

New research from the European IT Observatory (EITO) Yearbook 2007 shows that the UK is now one of the biggest European markets for consumer electronics.

The report finds that UK consumers spent £11 billion on electronic goods such as digital TVs, MP3 music players and DVDs in 2006.

This is more than any other European country, despite other nations like France and Germany having larger populations.

UK consumers are very technology-savvy and want to have the latest consumer electronics devices.

John Dow

Business development manager

East of England International

The report also reveals that the UK is now Europe’s biggest market for advanced (flat-screen/digital) TVs, with 4 million sold in 2006.

One of the main reasons for such rapid growth has been the drive by service providers such as Sky and Freeview to push digital TV services into the living room.

High-street sales growth

At the same time, retailers such as DSG International – which owns the Dixons, Currys and PC World high-street brands – and Tesco, which offers a wide range of electronics goods, have helped to boost high-street sales figures of a growing range of digital devices.

“UK consumers are very technology-savvy and want to have the latest consumer electronics devices,” explains John Dow, business development manager at Cambridge-based East of England International (EEI).

EEI provides professional services to overseas companies looking to enter UK and European markets.

The role of niche partners

But it’s not just consumer demand that has attracted international electronics companies such as Sanyo, Samsung and Fujitsu to the UK.

The growing trend towards convergence means that device developers and manufacturers will increasingly need to work with a network of specialist or niche partners in order to gain the diverse technologies that new converged devices demand.

According to Dow, this is something that the UK can offer in abundance.

Clusters of electronics expertise

As well as the UK’s strength in research and development (R&D) – and the university spin-outs that creates – regions such as Cambridge and Bristol already boast a surfeit of riches in terms of consumer electronics technology companies.

The UK offers international organisations the chance to think about embedding new technology into their products.

John Dow

Business development manager

East of England International

Cambridge alone, for example, is home to large chip-design companies such as Cambridge Technology Group and Cambridge Consultants, mobile chip companies such as ARM and Cambridge Silicon Radio, and display specialists such as Plastic Logic and Cambridge Display Technology.

“The UK offers international organisations the chance to think about embedding new technology into their products, and the channels and niche partners to take new products to the market,” says Dow.

An attractive manufacturing base

But perhaps most important, the UK still offers a low-cost base for the manufacturing and assembly of consumer electronics devices.

Sanyo, for example, has had an assembly factory for its digital TV operations based in Lowestoft, Suffolk, for more than 20 years.

“The focus in the UK, in terms of investment in consumer electronics, has been on the R&D side.

“However, as highlighted by companies such as Sanyo, the UK still offers a cost-effective base and workforce for the large-scale assembly of products such as advanced TVs,” says Dow.