14 DAY TRIAL // The North American TV market has come back to normal after Samsung have regained their leading position in sales. The last three months have turned television set sells upside down after the newcomer Vizio made a bold move and hit the top.
The study conducted by DisplaySearch reveals that good-old Samsung have regained their 11.8 percent of the total market, while the ex number one, Vizio dropped to a 10.2-percent share - 1.8 less than the previous quarter. Samsung's comeback was possible due to their strong presence in both LCD and plasma markets, while Vizio made their presence sensed in the liquid crystal display area only.
While Samsung sells their products in the national retailer line, Vizio is more popular within the club stores, which tend to sell uniformly in all the periods, while the retailer market is influenced by socio-economical factors (holidays or major sports events).
"That national chains typically would gain share in the holiday season so you'll see a lot of sell in in the third quarter", said Ross Young, president of DisplaySearch, the authority in tracking TV shipments. The course of events has also been altered by the fact that Samsung is more concerned with the professional, 1080p resolution line, while Vizio still invests in lower-end 720p lines.
Sony has also met the bottom of the top in the second quarter, when their sales have collapsed to a shameful 6th place among TV vendors. The Japanese corporation struggled their way back to a fourth place after an energetic overall growth that brought a well-deserved 8.6-percent market share. Sony succeeded in marketing their new line of custom-made products that have sold well in the Wall-Mart and Target networks.
The rest of the top includes Sharp at 10 percent, Sony at 8.6, and Funai at a 7.2 percent share, but the upcoming holidays are expected to give yet another course of events. DisplaySearch have already estimated that the best buy this season will be Sharp's LCD sets between 19 and 26 inches, followed by Vizio in the 32- and 37-inch categories, while the other brands are likely to sell more of their 2 and 42 inches products.