Scorching weather sets off AC sales boom

Sales of air conditioners are booming thanks to the scorching weather and the Summer Olympic Games, electronic appliance companies said.

“The extremely hot summer is the No. 1 reason for the air conditioner sales boom. The Olympics also contributed to the sales because these games are usually on during the night when people are back home from work,” said a spokesperson of LG Electronics.

The boom is good news for AC manufacturers companies, especially as sales volume was cut almost in half in June, generally the bestselling month for air conditioners.

Samsung Electronics said that the sales of its air conditioners in the fourth week of July quadrupled compared to the week earlier. 

In the same period, LG Electronics also reported that AC sales tripled.

An official of the company predicted that the unspoken rule that “AC sales begin to drop in August” will most likely not apply this year.

Manufacturers and distributors of ACs expect that the sales boom will continue into August, noting the exceptionally high temperatures.

Last Tuesday, July 31, marked the hottest day of this year, with the temperature in Hayangeup, North Jeolla Province, hitting 40.6 degrees Celsius, or 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

Himart Co., one of the nation’s largest home appliance retailers, said that it raised the bar for a new record in AC sales.

The firm said that it sold 14,775 units on July 29 alone ― 46 percent more than the previous one-day record ― as the weather forecasts warned of further rises in temperatures.

The Korea Meteorological Administration issued a nationwide warning of exceptionally hot weather, two days after which most regions in the country experienced “tropical nights,” a term referring to abnormally hot nights of 25 degrees or above.

“Generally speaking, the AC sales peak from April to June, begin to taper off in July and enter the off-season from August,” said an official of Himart. “But this year, we got a second wind from July.”

With rising demand for ACs, standing models are the most popular, according to LG Electronics.

The wall-mountable ACs, which usually have poor energy efficiency, are also popular especially among low-budget customers.

Government officials and experts recommend that people buy energy-efficient air conditioning devices.

“The inverters for compression process are necessary for higher power efficiency, but they cost more. Last June we came up with a first-grade power efficient mountable AC at a higher price,” an LG Electronics spokesperson said.

By Chung Joo-won (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)