By Matthew Henry
USA: Sony recorded an 83 per cent jump in quarterly demand for Bravia flat panel TVs in the USA from Q3 to Q4 2007 to claim the number one spot in LCD shipments to North America for the first time, according to market analyst DisplaySearch.
Sony overtook former US market leader Sharp and Korea’s Samsung Electronics during the critical fourth quarter, which saw the LCD market increase 38 per cent to reach 9.1 million total units for calendar 2007.
Sony’s unit share jumped from 9.7 per cent in Q3 to 12.8 per cent in Q4, DisplaySeach said.
Samsung moved up from number four to number two with 12.3 per cent unit share while Sharp dropped from number one to number four, with 11.3 per cent of shipments.
Vizio continues to be a strong contender in the North American market and came in ahead of Sharp in third place for the quarter with 10.7 per cent share, after seeing 250 per cent growth in shipments year-on-year.
DisplaySearch attributed Sony’s growth to strategic alignment with big box retailers who focused on 40-inch-plus screen sizes and 1080 during the holiday season, and greater focus on North America, which accounts for 29.5 per cent of global shipments for the brand.
The results are detailed in DisplaySearch’s Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report, which also shows Panasonic continues its significant lead in the plasma market.
Panasonic’s unit share stood 38.5 per cent in Q4, compared with nearest competitor Samsung at 20.4 per cent.
Samsung remains the overall market leader in the combined flat panel figures with 13.1 per cent of total shipments.