Sars has helped boost consumer electronics sales by forcing people to spend more of their leisure time at home, Samsung Electronics' Hong Kong operation says. The South Korean consumer electronics giant said its large plasma television sales in Hong Kong rose 25 per cent year on year in April. It also sold 50 per cent more liquid crystal display monitors last month. Washing machine sales went up by 70 per cent. The sales increases defied the general downturn in the retail sector caused by the Sars outbreak. Samsung's overall Hong Kong sales last month rose about 20 per cent year on year, up from about 18 per cent in the first quarter to March. 'People are spending more time at home for work and leisure to avoid catching Sars ... this has helped sales of audio-visual and Internet-related products,' said general manger Steven Yu. Use of Internet and teleconferences had also increased as buyers cancelled trips and companies isolated some staff from workplaces. Fear of catching atypical pneumonia in public entertainment venues also caused people to spend more time surfing the Internet or watching videos at home. Mr Yu also predicted industrial sales opportunities would arise as hospitals and laboratories bought more air purifiers. 'We will enter this market in about two months,' he said. Mr Yu said Hong Kong had been a litmus-test market for foreign brands wanting to enter the mainland, and for mainland brands trying to sell overseas. 'Hong Kong is a small market in volume but is a significant place to test Chinese consumer reaction to new products before making much larger investments in the mainland,' he said. Samsung, the world's largest TV maker, made its first foray into Hong Kong in 1997 after entering the mainland market in 1992.
