Samsung Electronics in the fourth quarter of 2011 solidified its leadership of the US LCD TV market, as its share of unit shipments reached a record high, according to IHS iSuppli.
During the final three months of 2011, Samsung accounted for nearly one-quarter of US LCD TV shipments, at 23.6%. This represented the largest share of the market ever posted by Samsung on a quarterly basis, and allowed the Korea-based electronics giant to pad its lead over the number two brand Vizio.
"Samsung triumphed in the price war that raged in the US LCD market in the fourth quarter of 2011," said Tom Morrod, senior analyst and head of TV Technology for IHS. "The company was able to offer a range of price-competitive sets with a rich choice of features that US consumers wanted. This allowed the company to outperform the competition during the all-important holiday selling season."
Samsung in the fourth quarter extended its market-share lead over Vizio to 8.2pp, up from 6.2pp in the third quarter. Just a year earlier, in the fourth quarter of 2010, the companies' positions were reversed, with Vizio leading Samsung by 7.2pp.
Samsung may be positioned to further expand its lead over Vizio in 2012 because of another factor separate from LCD-TV market dynamics.
"The recent Free Trade Agreement between the United States and South Korea will remove tariffs imposed on Korean firms selling TVs in America," Morrod said. "Because of this accord, Samsung and fellow Korean brand LG Electronics are poised to increase their shipments in the United States this year."
The US LCD TV market shipments experienced strong sequential growth in the fourth quarter of 2011, rising by 30.7% compared to the third quarter.
Lower-than-expected demand and uncertainty about the US economic recovery had caused LCD shipments to fall going into the second quarter. However, aggressive pricing helped boost sales at the end of the year – the time when holiday sales typically peak.
Overall average LCD TV prices in the fourth quarter fell to about US$1,032, a US$16 drop from the third quarter. The strong fourth-quarter increase helped the US LCD TV market to eke out a small increase in 2011, with shipments rising to 33.4 million units for the year, up 0.4% from 33.2 million in 2010.
Article translated by Steve Shen
