By Patrick Avenell

There was a 6.3 per cent decline in value for the entire major domestic appliance sector during Q1 2012, compared to Q1 2011, though this was caused primarily due to inflated 2011 sales, according to the latest TEMAX report by GfK.

This report singled out refrigeration, washing machines and dishwashers as the weakest performers in major appliances, though these value declines are due mainly to be compared with sales figures registered after a series of devastating natural disasters.

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“The normally rock-steady major domestic appliance sector wavered ever so slightly in the first quarter of 2012,” said GfK account director Chris Peczalski.

“The natural disasters that affected parts of Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia in 2011 helped to drive sales of major domestic appliances products as Australians sought to rebuild what they had lost.

“As a result, the year-on-year performance of the quarter in the key segments — refrigerators, washing machines and dishwashers 3 was weak, experiencing single-digit value declines, pushing the entire sector into moderate value decline of 6.3 per cent.”