Preliminary Q4’08 North America TV Results Show LCD TV Shipments Declined Y/Y for the First Time, Falling 2% Amid Economic Woes

Sort Date: 02122009

AUSTIN, TEXAS, February 12, 2009—As the US economy deteriorated in Q4’08 and concerns about consumer spending for the holidays increased, shipments of TV sets in North America fell 7% to 10.7M units according to preliminary results from DisplaySearch. Retailers were careful to avoid an inventory hangover, so they reduced orders to manufacturers in anticipation of weaker demand. As expected, shipments of LCD TVs, the most popular TV technology, fell on a Y/Y basis for the first time ever, from 8.9M units in Q4’07 to 8.7M in Q4’08. In contrast, shipments of plasma TVs, which are typically cheaper than similarly-sized LCD TVs, increased by 28% Q/Q and 10% Y/Y. The PDP shipment total of 1.3M units was a new record for quarterly shipments.

Some additional highlights for the quarter include

• North America LCD TV shipments increased by 9% Q/Q due to seasonal effects, but excessive inventory heading into Q4’08 and weaker demand during the 2008 holiday season led to the first-ever Y/Y quarterly shipment decline, falling 2% to 8.7M units. This was stronger than the projected 8% decline, however, as aggressive discounting at retail kept sell-through unit volume higher; the impact on revenues will be more severe. Some of the best deals during the holidays were for 40-52” screen sizes, so the 40”+ share of LCD TV shipments rose from 30% in Q3’08 to 37% in Q4’08, as consumers snapped up bargains.
• Plasma TV shipments were expected to be less impacted by increased consumer price sensitivity, given their less expensive price points compared to similar LCD TV sizes and resolutions. However, the holiday season saw stronger-than-expected demand for these sets, as prices for 50” models fell below $1000 for the first time. Plasma TV shipments increased 28% Q/Q and 10% Y/Y to a record of more than 1.3M units, and plasma was the only TV technology to see Y/Y shipment growth in Q4’08.
• Samsung had the #1 overall flat-panel TV unit share for the sixth straight quarter, up to more than 20% for the first time. Samsung’s strong flat-panel TV share can be attributed to success in both LCD and plasma market segments, ranking #1 and #2, respectively. Samsung had the weakest Q/Q growth of the top five flat panel TV brands, but had the second-strongest Y/Y growth and significantly outperformed all other flat-panel TV brands in 2008 as a whole.
• Sony was #2 in combined flat panel TV share at 14.2%, a 3 point share gain from Q3’08, on 29% Q/Q unit shipment growth. Sony sells only LCD TVs in the consumer market, like Sharp, so their combined flat panel TV share is actually only LCD TVs. Sony’s Q4’08 LCD TV unit share was 16.3%, the highest at any time during the past three years.
• Vizio returned to #3 in overall flat-panel TV unit share, increasing from 9.0% to 12.3%, the biggest unit share gain among the top five brands. Strong shipment growth in LCD TVs offset a decline in plasma TV shipments, particularly above 40”. Vizio had the strongest Q/Q shipment growth in LCD TV among the top brands and ranked #3 in both LCD TV and plasma TV technologies.

More extensive Q4’08 results can be seen in the following tables.

Table 1: Preliminary Q3‘08-Q4‘08 NA Flat Panel TV Unit Share and Growth

Table 2: Preliminary Q3‘08-Q4‘08 NA LCD TV Unit Share and Growth

Table 3: Preliminary Q3‘08-Q4‘08 NA Plasma TV Unit Share and Growth

DisplaySearch’s TV market intelligence, including panel and TV shipments, TV shipments by region by brand by size for nearly 60 brands, rolling 16-quarter forecasts, TV cost/price forecasts and design wins can be found in its Quarterly Global TV Shipment and Forecast Report. For more information on this report, please contact Carl Holec at 1.512.687.1505 or Carl_Holec@displaysearch.com.

Learn more about DisplaySearch’s outlook for the TV market during the “The TV Market: Profitless Prosperity?” session at DisplaySearch’s 11th Annual USFPD Conference, called “It’s a New World, Are You Part of It?”, which will be held March 2-4, 2009 at the Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines, in San Diego, California. The event will focus on all major and emerging flat panel display applications, as well as key components and materials related to the supply chain. To register or view the agenda, visit www.displaysearch.com/usfpd

Media interested in attending the USFPD Conference should contact Stacey Voorhees-Harmon at media@displaysearch.com or call 1.925.336.9592.

About DisplaySearch
DisplaySearch, an NPD Group Company, has a core team of 59 employees located in Europe, North America and Asia who produce a valued suite of FPD-related market forecasts, technology assessments, surveys, studies and analyses. Visit the DisplaySearch blog to read about how our top analysts are interpreting up-to-the-minute issues that impact the display industry, and join us in this discussion about technology and the flat panel industry. The company also organizes influential events worldwide. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, DisplaySearch has regional operations in Chicago, Houston, Kyoto, London, San Diego, San Jose, Seoul, Shenzhen, Taipei and Tokyo, and the company is on the web at http://www.displaysearch.com/.

About The NPD Group, Inc.
The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,600 manufacturers, retailers and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national and local market levels. NPD helps our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales, merchandising and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, commercial technology, consumer technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, foodservice, home, office supplies, software, sports, toys and wireless. For more information, visit http://www.npd.com/.