Vizio Falls to No. 3 Brand in N. American LCD TV Market in Q4, 2007

Taipei, Feb. 21, 2008 (CENS)--After six months of dominance in the North American LCD-TV market, Vizio, a brand run by Taiwan-based AmTRAN Technology, Co. Ltd., fell to the third position in the fourth quarter of 2007 with a share of 12.4%, down from 13% in previous quarter, according to statistics compiled by iSuppli, a major player in technology value chain research and advisory services.

In the fourth quarter of 2007, the U.S. LCD TV market saw the return of more established brand names to the top sales ranks.

Samsung Electronics of South Korea in the fourth quarter became the No. 1 seller of LCD-TVs in North America, with its unit-shipment market share rising to 14.2%, up from 12.8% in previous three months. The South Korean company was ranked second in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, according to iSuppli, Sony Corp. increased its market share to 12.5% in the fourth quarter, up from 10.8% in the third, giving the Japanese firm the No. 2 position in North America, up from No. 4 during the previous quarter.

The advisory firm attributed Vizio's brilliant sales performance in the third and fourth quarters 2007 a combination of low pricing and high-visibility sales channels. However, Samsung and Sony fought back with their own low pricing in the fourth quarter.

According to iSuppli, Samsung and Sony adopted very aggressive pricing and promotion strategies to take advantage of the key holiday buying season. The former, for example, in December offered a US$300 price discount for its 40-inch models, and heavily promoted those sets through leading electronics retailer Best Buy.

As for Vizio, however, the brand did not offer as many pricing promotions as Samsung did in the fourth quarter, although it maintained its leadership in the 32-, 37- and 42-inch sizes. While Vizio's pricing was still lower than Samsung's and Sony's in the fourth quarter, the relative-narrow price differences were not great enough to lure as many North American consumers away from the established brands, iSuppli analyzed.

The iSuppli pointed out that consumers in the TV industry are not as brand-conscious as they once were, as evidenced by the popularity of Vizio. However, when the price difference between a value-brand TV and a premium-brand set is within 10%, consumers often would go for the latter, the advisory firm said.

In addition, iSuppli added, Samsung and Sony were able to slash the prices by reducing their distribution margins, i.e. their costs incurred by actually selling the sets. All the LCD-TV brands pay about the same price for panels while and the cost of production by original design manufacturers (ODMs) is about equal for everyone, which leaves the brand and channel margin. Samsung and Sony had more room to cut these margins than Vizio due to their higher prices, iSuppli explained.

Top-7 LCD-TV Brands in North America (Q4, 2007*)
Q4 2007 Rank	Vendor	Q3 2007 Share	Q4 2007 Share
1	Samsung	12.8%	14.2%
2	Sony	10.8%	12.5%
3	Vizio	13.0%	12.4%
4	Polaroid	9.1%	9.4%
5	Sharp	12.0%	8.3%
6	LG Electronics	7.0%	7.8%
7	Philips	9.0%	6.7%
	Others	26.5%	28.8%
	Grand Total	100.0%	100.0%
*: In terms of unit shipments. Source: iSuppli.