The market of high-end electronics and home appliances, where an oven may cost as much as 3,000-4,000 euros, is a rather small niche on the Romanian market, with sales of a few million euros per year, Ziarul Financiar reported.

Retailers of high-end home appliances say in a time of economic contraction there is still demand for ovens or for washbasins costing thousands of euros, and their businesses continue to grow.

"The economic situation has nothing to do with the decision to make an acquisition. On the one hand there are well-off clients whose budget has not been very much affected by the economic crisis, and on the other hand there are the clients who go by the saying 'I am too poor to buy cheap stuff'.

This is a long-term investment," said Leo Popescu, sales manager of Miele Appliances Romania. The most expensive product sold by Miele in 2009 was a refrigerator worth 93,000 RON (around 22,000 euros), enough to buy three standard Dacia Logans.

Source: Ziarul Financiar