Europe Really Loves Sony's Bravia

Everyone's talking about "brand awareness" and "brand recognition" nowadays, but in some cases, these terms actually mean a lot more than loads of PR talk. And one of those cases is that of Sony's Bravia line of LCD HDTV sets, which seems to be so popular across Europe that the Japanese company has been actually forced to seriously increase the European production capacity in order to meet the overwhelming demand.

So, Sony has announced plans to double the annual production capacity of BRAVIA LCD TVs in Slovakia, up from two million sets in fiscal year 2007 to four million sets by the end of December 2008. This way, the Slovak factory (based in Nitra) is set to become Sony's largest producer of LCD TVs worldwide.

"BRAVIA holds the key for further growth of Sony's electronics business", says Ryoji Chubachi, President and Electronics CEO of Sony Corporation. "The expansion of our production capacity in Nitra is a clear sign of our determination to expand our TV business across Europe, the world's largest market for BRAVIA", he added.

According to the company's statement, the new, improved plant will produce all main BRAVIA LCD TV line-ups from high-end to standard, including the latest BRAVIA E4000 series with its unique "picture frame" design, which is initially targeted at the European market.

"Sales of BRAVIA are continuing to grow in double-digits in many countries across Europe. It is crucial to strengthen our supply chain from engineering and production to distribution within Europe in order to meet growing demand", says Fujio Nishida, President of Sony Europe. "The expansion in Nitra clearly demonstrates our determination to ensure that BRAVIA's excellent viewing experience is available to all our customers across Europe - East and West", he added.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether Sony's plans will actually pay off and whether the demand for Bravias will remain at the same levels as today, but one thing's for sure: Sony's on the right track, and it's about to give all of its competitors a very tough time.

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