Samsung nabs top spot in Q3 flat panel TV sales

By Colleen Taylor, Contributing Editor -- 11/2/2007

As more and more consumers gravitate toward the latest in sleek flat-screen television sets as opposed to bulkier CRT models, Q3 brought a shakeup to the rankings of North American flat panel TV makers, according to the latest report from market research firm DisplaySearch. 

Based on its strength in both LCD and plasma volume, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. took the top spot in DisplaySearch's overall flat panel TV rankings with 11.8 percent market share, as formerly top-ranked Vizio Inc. slid to second place with a 10.2 percent stake of the flat panel market. Sharp Electronics Corp., Sony Corp. and Funai Electric Co. Ltd. remained at the third, fourth, and fifth spots, respectively. (See table 3 below for more.)

Within that flat panel realm, the firm said that LCD has continued to beat out plasma for consumers' TV purchases. Overall, DisplaySearch reported, the LCD-TV market had a stellar Q3 in terms of sell-in: Preliminary totals for LCD TVs rose 34 percent from Q2 and 82 percent year-over-year to hit a new record high of 6.6 million units, the firm said.  LCD TVs rose to 88 percent, up from Q3 2006's 78 percent. 

For the first time in more than two years, Sharp led the North American LCD TV market with an 11.3 percent share, jumping ahead two spots from its third-place ranking in Q2 due to sales growth up 65 percent sequentially and 88 percent year-over-year. According to DisplaySearch, Sharp's major boost is due to a rapidly growing internal panel capacity from the ramp-up of its 8G fab, the company's growing focus on LCDs and in-demand smaller sized screens, and an increased attention to the North American market. (See table 1 below for more.)

Other companies' strong Q3 performances nevertheless managed to pale in comparison to Sharp's. Vizio Inc. fell to second place in Q3 despite its staggering 334 year-over-year growth, as it had the slowest sequential growth out of the top five LCD-TV companies. And Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. fell from number two to number three, despite 33 percent sequential and 79 percent year-over-year growth in its LCD sales. 

With 108 percent sequential growth, fourth-ranked Sony Corp. had the fastest quarter-over-quarter growth of the top five LCD brands. The company saw 84 percent growth year-over-year.  Meanwhile, Funai Electric Co. Ltd. fourth place to fifth place. 

As for plasma TV's, which made up the remaining 12 percent of the flat panel market, Panasonic led the pack with a 30 percent market share. Ranked second, with a 19.8 percent market share, was Samsung, followed by LG Electronics in third and Hitachi Ltd. in fourth, with 13.7 percent market share and 9.6 percent market share, respectively. In fifth place was Philips Electronics, with a 7.4 percent share of the plasma TV market's sales. (See table 2 below for more.)


Source: DisplaySearch


Source: DisplaySearch


Source: DisplaySearch

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