Over 21 million LCD TVs were sold in the first three months of 2008 compared to 2.8 million plasma sets, according to a data compiled by research firm DisplaySearch.
The total number of TVs sold during the period was 46.1 million, up only 1% compared to sales in 2007.
The slow-down in sales is largely attributed to a weaker US economy.
Overall revenue rose 8%, however, to $24.8 billion USD, thanks to increasing sales of larger, more expensive LCD and plasma displays.
Aging CRT TVs were still the best selling, with 22.1 million sold, with LCD closely behind at 21.1 million.
Plasma and rear projection televisions had sales of 2.8 million and 134,000 sold respectively.
Year-over-year CRT sales were down 21%, LCD up 45%, plasma up 20% and RPTV down 79%.
In terms of brands, Samsung led in revenue for the 9th straight quarter, with an impressive 39% year-over-year growth
Flat panel TV demand is expected to be strong overall in 2008 and manufacturers are to use smaller screen sizes and low-cost models to stimulate demand among price conscious consumers.
This strategy is also expected to be adopted to maintain growth in mature markets, particularly as many consumers look to buy their second or third flat panel TV.
In terms of brand, Samsung was the global brand share leader in revenues for the ninth straight quarter, improving to more than 20% for the first time on robust 39% year-on-year growth.
Samsung also had the top ranking on a unit basis. Sony was ranked second on a revenue basis for the third straight quarter, declining about a point to 13.2% revenue share after a very strong Q4 performance.
LGE remained in third place, leveraging a second place unit share position to offset lower ASPs.
Tag: sony
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Results shows global LCD TV sales outstripped plasma TV by 8:1 for Q1 of 2008
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Play Station 3 outsells Xbox in the US for first time
Play Station 3 outsells Xbox in the US for first time
Sony’s Play Station 3 outsold Microsoft’s XBox 360 in the US during the first quarter, the first time that has ever happened.
The PS3 sold 806,000 units to the Xbox’s 746,000, according to the NPD Group, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The newspaper credits the rise in PS3 sales to a 20% decrease (it now starts at $399) and the end of the Blu-ray/HD DVD high-def disc format war.
The PS3 has a Blu-ray player inside while the XBox offered an HD DVD player attachment. (Toshiba pulled the plug on HD DVD in the first quarter.)
Despite PS3’s success, the video game console still trailed Nintendo’s Wii, which sold 1.4 million units in the US in the first quarter.
However, a year ago, Wii was outselling PS3 by a 4-1 margin while the XBox was winning by a 2-1 margin.
Thanks in part to the PS3, Sony yesterday reported a profit of $277 million in the last quarter.
Perhaps not surprising then, the company also said yesterday that it won’t cut PS3 prices any further this year.
Kazuo Hirai, president of Sony’s videogame division, told the WSJ: “We’re not looking to do that this year. It’s not in our plans right now.”
While some reports this month have indicated that standalone Blu-ray players are struggling at retail, the rise in PS3 sales should help boost the Blu-ray industry. However, some analysts question whether PS3 buyers will use the console for movies as well as games.