OREANDA-NEWS. August 06, 2014. Along with the hot weather sunblinds, air conditioners, ventilators and various sun protection products are especially purchased. People are mostly performing home repair and improvement works during summer due to which the merchants selling goods required for interior design and repair have noticed a significant increase of customers. Also Citadele Bank has so far noticed the growing demand for consumer credits.

During the summer people pay big attention to changes of their homes, light, bright colours and summer interior decorations become more topical for the interior. At the same time attention is paid in order to successfully acquire everything needed for barbecue in the garden or yard as well as to protect dwellings from heat.

Simultaneously with such a trend, also merchants selling the home and design goods observe a significant increase of customers and interest on possibilities to bring the lightness and freshness, peculiar for summer, to their homes. According to Ilze Mortukane, Alan Deko Marketing Manager: "Sunblinds and different sun protection products are very much purchased now. Besides, this year we have noticed that people had timely prepared for the heat in summer. We expect inhabitants to show even bigger interest on goods peculiar for more hot weather conditions."

Also Citadele Bank has noticed the increase of the number of issued consumer credits, which are used for the acquisition, repair or improvement of home. Baiba Tetina, Head of Retail Lending Division of Citadele Bank, tells: "During summer nature around us encourages to think of ways to create something new at home. We have concluded that usually in spring people planned changes, gathered information on finances and possibilities, while now, in summer, the active improvement works are taking place."

Similarly, this year the American Express payment cards were widely used, providing an opportunity to obtain various discounts with retailers. "Most actively the customers have used discounts provided by the payment card in different outlets (64%) as well as for the offers of leisure (16%) as well as at the merchants selling home, textile and interior goods, for example cenuklubs.lv, Alan Deko and store Laiks," tells Baiba Tetina.

Elina Caplinska, Interior Design Consultant of K-Rauta store chain, reveals the topicalities of interior design, observed in the current year: "Currently the most topical is the repair of bathrooms, and basically people choose to make their interior with white or very light wall finish. Here mainly wooden and imitation materials thereof are dominating, for example, tiles with wooden textures as well as floor and furniture of natural wood, where modern and white plumbing look stylish. Owners of apartments have more started to purchase wall-papers for the repair of rooms, while the owners of private houses still prefer wall painting."

As far as light colours better suit the summer, they are also dominating in the home design. "Warm and beige colours are topical if the choice has been made in favour of wall-papers, many customers are ambitiously varying also with bright colours, for example, the fashion colour of the current year - purple violet. We have noticed that the various new materials and technologies provide an opportunity for manufacturers to create unique and customized interior decorations, which, in its turn, successfully enriches our living space," tells Elina Caplinska.

About Citadele Bank
Citadele is a local Latvian bank that offers banking, financial and asset management services. The core market of Citadele Group is the Baltic States: Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Citadele Bank is the only collaboration partner of American Express in Latvia and Lithuania who is entitled to issue American Express credit cards. The bank is recognized as the best-governed state-owned enterprise in the Baltic States according to a study conducted by the Baltic Institute of Corporate Governance. Citadele’s vision is to become the most valuable local financial group in the Baltic States. 75% minus one Citadele Bank’s shares are possessed by the State Joint Stock Company Privatization agency on behalf of the Latvian State and the owner of 25% plus one share is the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).