Competitive relations in the aftersales market of major appliances in Serbia

The primary goal of this paper is to deepen the knowledge and provide analysis of the basic features of the major appliances aftersales market in the Republic of Serbia. This is relatively large, and for a huge number of consumers significant market, which, according to the available knowledge, was not the subject to more detailed research until now. Therefore, through a combination of survey (desk) and secondary (field) research, a detailed overview of the scope and structure of the major appliances aftermarket was carried out. With the aim to identify potential issues and propose curative to overcome them, an analysis on the competitive relations between the main actors and the factors that predominantly affect the market relations in this segment of the aftersales market was conducted. Bearing in mind the basic characteristics of the primary market in Serbia, it can be concluded that interbrand competition on the major appliances aftermarket is intense, and that significant issues are noticed. A potential problem related to competitive relations in this market segment is reflected in the constraints of intrabrand competition (competition between distributors / servicers / spare parts resellers of the same brand). The manufacturer is in a position to impose restrictions on distributors in respect of the terms of their contracts with authorized services and spare parts dealers, obliging them to install / sell spare parts exclusively from its production. Restrictions of this kind are justified only if they provide higher quality of the after-sales service. Otherwise they represent a serious distortion of competitive market behavior, as this limits the entry of independent spare parts manufacturers and servicers, who can offer spare parts and technical and repairing services of the appropriate quality.