By James Wells
SYDNEY: Sharp Corporation of Australia has announced it is looking for more profit-focused retailers to sell its 65-inch LCD television, which is still the largest commercially available screen of its kind.
“We have been fairly tight with the distribution of the 65-inch LCD television for some time now as it is not really a commodity product. It is not something you are likely to see selling at BigW or Kmart,” said Sharp associate director, Joe Costantino.
Sharp used historical data to determine which stores should take delivery of the product last year, preferring to supply retailers that are capable of selling large screen LCD products, including its 45-inch LCD televisions.
“When the 65-inch LCD first arrived, we wanted to limit the distribution of this 1920×1080 high definition screen to key retail supporters that can do justice to the product. These dealers are generally technology retailers who allow us to sell this product a little bit differently,” Costantino said.
“For example, unlike other products, we sell this directly to the consumer, as it is quite large and fairly expensive at an RRP of $25,999.”
Costantino has confirmed that Sharp will re-examine its distribution policy every three months, but to sell the screen certain conditions will apply.
“We would like to expand the number of stores selling the 65-inch LCD, but there is a stockist policy associated with this product. Retailers do not get access to it unless they buy one for the store – this prevents a lot of price-focused
retailers from selling it off a brochure,” Costantino said.
“We want a retailer who is profit focused, not price focused, so that they can benefit from the margin in the product.”
Another shipment of 65-inch LCD televisions is expected to arrive in the next few weeks.