Competition Heated Among Top-3 LCD TV Brands in N. America

Taipei, May 14, 2008 (CENS)--Competition in the North American LCD-TV market intensified in the first quarter as the battle to lead sales among the top-three brands raged, according to iSuppli Corp., a global leader in technology value-chain research and advisory services.

The top-three brands in North America, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. of South Korea, Sony Corp. of Japan, and Vizio Inc. of the United States, were separated by a mere 0.3 percentage point in the first quarter, down from 1.8 points in the fourth quarter. The three companies are aggressively underselling each other in trying to attract the attention of consumers, iSuppli said.

Riddhi Patel, principal analyst of television systems for iSuppli, said that following Vizio's surprise rise to leadership in the North American LCD-TV market in the second and third quarters of 2007 due to its competitive pricing, Samsung and Sony have struck back with their own cuts and new low-cost sets. "The competitive battle and price cutting among these three companies has made it a struggle for other competitors," Patel added, "such as Sharp and Philips to keep pace."

The top-three LCD TV brands accounted for 40% of the overall sales in the market in the first quarter, indicating they are starting to race ahead of the pack, iSuppli said. In the first quarter, 4.7% of market share separated No. 3 Vizio, from No.- 4 Sharp, up from 2.9% in the fourth quarter.

As prices plunge, iSuppli said, the pace of LCD-TV sales growth in North America is starting to slow.

LCD-TV unit shipments in North America are expected to rise by only 26.6% in 2008, reaching 27.4 million units, compared with the 88.8% rise in 2007 and the 92.6% increase in 2006.

The first quarter is typically the weakest period of the year for the LCD-TV market in North America, and 2008 is no exception. Unit shipments in the first quarter amounted to 5.6 million units, down 30% from 7.96 million units in the fourth quarter.

"After years of explosive growth, the North American LCD-TV market is undergoing a deceleration due to deteriorating economic conditions," Patel said. "Furthermore, price declines for some key television sizes, such as the popular 32-inch dimension, have stabilized, negatively impacting consumer demand growth."

The economy would rebound in North America, iSuppli said. With 2008 being a presidential election year in the United States, the government will do everything in its power to minimize the impact of the recession. However, this will not come quickly enough to restore strong growth to the North American LCD-TV market in 2008, and rather will pave the way for a stronger 2009.

N. American LCD-TV Market Share Estimates for Q1, 2008
Vendor	1Q ‘07	2Q ‘07	3Q ‘07	4Q ‘07	1Q ‘08
Samsung	11.8%	11.0%	12.8%	14.0%	13.9%
Sony	10.9%	6.1%	10.8%	13.5%	13.7%
Vizio	9.1%	14.0%	13.0%	12.3%	13.5%
Sharp	11.9%	10.0%	12.0%	9.4%	8.8%
LG Electronics	6.3%	7.1%	7.0%	7.7%	8.3%
Polaroid	4.0%	8.7%	9.1%	9.3%	7.2%
Others	46.1%	43.2%	35.4%	33.8%	34.7%
Grand Total	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%
Source: iSuppli, May 2008.