The head of Iran’s Home Appliances Association, Mohammad Tahan Pour says distribution of credit cards for buying home appliances will end on April 19 and customers can use the cards starting from the next day.
“To extend the credit scheme, the cards’ credit limit has been raised to 60 million rials ($1,983) from the previous 40 million and the repayment period is 24 months,” he was quoted as saying by IRNA.
The credit card scheme is a tranquilizer and not the answer to the woes the guild is grappling with for years, he lamented. “One major issue that is hurting our business is the low profit margins”. He criticized the regulations and supervising bodies for what he termed “unreasonable and unfair” treatment toward the members of his guild that results in low prices and small margins.
Tahan Pour strongly criticized the previous government saying officials then created instability in the market and are in fact responsible for the current mess and recession in the markets.
“Those policies pushed many to venture into brokerage and work as middlemen earning huge profits. Many tried to hoard goods in order to sell them later at higher prices,” he said. He, however, noted that now calm and stability prevails in the market and people buy goods when the need to.
Hamidreza Ghaznavi, a spokesman for the Home Appliance Manufacturers’ Union also said that the credit card project is underway but has not been warmly received by the masses.
“We think that those who applied for credit cards will gradually go to the shops and sales will pick up,” he was quoted as saying by ISNA on Sunday.
One of the complaints aired by home appliance manufacturers is the short repayment period of the credits. “With the extension of the repayment period to 24 months, this problem seems to be solved. The situation is favorable for customers now.”
