The Television appears to be losing heat.
TV sales in Russia took a dip in Q1 2025, with a 12% decrease in unit sales and a 4% decrease in monetary terms compared to the previous year. The decrease was much steeper in the segment of Russian TVs, dropping by 20% and 11% respectively.
While other Russian manufacturers are struggling to keep up, "Yandex" and Sber (part of SberDevices) are surging ahead, increasing their market share. According to "M.Video-Eldorado", sales of their devices have nearly doubled compared to the same period last year.
Interestingly, "Sber" has entered the top 5 brands for TV sales, with "Yandex" showing growth rates above the market average - a staggering 32% in units and 55% in monetary terms. Sber's growth was a more modest 20% and 58% respectively.
This surge in demand for Russian TVs is partially attributed to the active promotion of the brands 'Yandex' and Sber, and their associated ecosystems, 'Alice' and 'Salute' respectively.
In mid-2024, it was reported that Russian enterprises assembling TVs for foreign brands saw a 30-70% increase in production volumes due to the departure of Western competitors.
Despite the growth, Alexei Pogudalov, commercial director of "Refrigerator.Ru", predicts a 15% decrease in TV demand by the end of 2025 compared to last year's results. Notably, the largest decreases in share are observed for Xiaomi, Samsung, and LG. Among the growing brands, Sber and TCL have seen significant growth.
Both Yandex and Sber attribute their success to the new models of TVs they introduced early in 2024 and have expanded their distribution channels.
However, TV manufacturers in Russia face financial and logistical challenges, including a high key interest rate and reduced demand. Despite this, Larisa Sennina, director of the KBT "Marvel-Distribution" department, expects the TV market to shrink by only 10% in units and 5% in money by the end of 2025.
Current trends in the Russian media and technology landscape include a shift towards "sovereign advertising," independent platforms outside traditional ecosystems like Yandex and VK. However, specific details about Yandex and Sber's involvement in the TV sales market are not currently available.
Technology and finance play significant roles in the current surge of Sber and Yandex in the Russian TV sales market. Both companies attribute their success to the new technology-driven models of TVs they introduced early in 2024 and the expansion of their distribution channels, which have helped them increase their market shares and show growth rates above the market average (Sber - 20% and 58%, Yandex - 32% and 55%).
