Vizio maintains lead in US LCD TV market

EL SEGUNDO, USA: Riding a wave of demand for its light-emitting diode (LED)-backlit televisions, Vizio Inc. managed to maintain leadership in the US market for liquid-crystal display televisions (LCD TV) in the fourth quarter as well as for the entire year in 2010, according to new IHS iSuppli research.

US-based Vizio in the fourth quarter shipped 2.9 million LCD TVs, up 78.9 percent from 1.6 million in the third quarter. This gave the company a 27.6 percent share of unit shipments, up from 19.5 percent in the third quarter. Vizio’s lead over second-place Samsung expanded to 7.4 percentage points in the fourth quarter, up from 2.1 percentage points in the third quarter.

Topped by a strong fourth-quarter performance, Vizio padded its leadership of the US LCD TV market for the entire year of 2010. Company market share amounted to 21.3 percent in 2010, up from 18.3 percent in 2009. Vizio’s lead expanded to 2.5 percentage points over chief rival Samsung, up from 1 point in 2009.

“Vizio’s market share gains in the U.S. LCD TV market in 2010 were driven by strong consumer demand for the company’s LED-backlit sets,” said Riddhi Patel, director, television systems for IHS. “Vizio has been able to offer sets with this advanced feature while maintaining competitive pricing. Consumers are snapping up LED-backlit LCD TVs from Vizio and others because of their thinner profile, superior picture, lower power consumption and reduced prices.”

Vizio takes flat-panel lead in Q4 2010 but Samsung takes the year
Vizio in the fourth quarter of 2010 also managed to displace Samsung for leadership in the US market for flat-panel televisions, a category that combines the LCD TV and plasma segments. With its strong business in both plasma and LCD sets, Samsung historically has led this area. However, Vizio captured the lead because of aggressive shipments of feature-rich LCD TVs at attractive pricing through its distribution network.

Vizio in the fourth quarter shipped 2.9 million flat-panel sets, up 78.9 percent from 1.6 million in the third quarter and a 55.5 percent increase from 1.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. This gave Vizio a 23.9 percent share of the US flat-panel market in the fourth quarter, up from 16.6 percent in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, Samsung’s share rose to 21.5 percent in the fourth quarter, up from 18.8 percent in the third. While its share rose, the increase was not sufficient to keep it from falling to second place in the U.S. flat-panel television market.

Samsung shipped 2.6 million flat panel sets in the fourth quarter of 2010, up 41.5 percent from 1.8 million in the third quarter and a 22.8 percent rise from 2.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2009.

However, because Samsung led Vizio in flat-panel television shipments during the first three quarters of 2010, it maintained leadership for the year as a whole. Samsung accounted for 20.1 percent of US flat-panel shipments in 2010, compared to 18.4 percent for Vizio.

Source: IHS iSuppli, USA.