Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest flat-panel television maker, is trying to ride out one of the industry’s worst downturns through regular launches of premium TVs. Even as consumers are tightening their purse strings in the face of looming threats of job losses, Samsung introduced new LED category of flat panel TVs, marking a trans¬formative moment in the TV industry that revolutionises the way consumers interact with and experience their TVs.
Samsung’s entirely new line-up of high-definition LED TVs represents the current pinnacle of technological leadership, fusing highly advanced technology and features with an artful, Ultra Slim design in an intelligent package that also reflects Samsung’s profound concern for environmental sustainability.
The innovative aspect of this new class of TVs was recognised by three 2009 CES Innovation awards, one each for the Series 6, Series 7, and Series 8 model line-ups. The award for the Series 6 6000 TVs in particular recognises Samsung’s ongoing efforts toward green manufacturing and design leading to long-term, eco-friendly HDTV solutions. Samsung president Yoon Boo Keun, who heads the TV business, points out he wanted to create a buzz in the industry to break out a of trap where revenues drop even as a unit sales increase.
Samsung began an aggressive global marketing campaign promoting the new generation of high-definition LED-lit TVs focused on three factors: it’s ultraslim ( thinner than three centimeters); its LED technology makes picture quality sharper and brighter; and the new TVs cut power consumption by about 40 per cent compared with old LCD TVs.
Despite the economic downturn, consumers globally bought some 500,000 LED-lit Samsung TVs in the first 100 days of the mid-March launch. In the high-end premium market, Samsung took a share of 83 percent in May, up from just 4 percent a year earlier, according to market researcher NPD group.
“We are confident the TV business will continue to be a growth engine. Samsung achieved outstanding results in the second quarter with our consumer electronics business remaining strong and a solid performance in the still challenging components market” said BJ Kim, General Manager of AV Division at Samsung Gulf Electronics.
Samsung Digital Media divisions registered an operating profit of USD
$870,100,436 up 657 percent increase year-on-year. Revenue reached USD $9,661,429,999, a 13.8 percent increase year-on-year. The performance was driven by strong sales of flat panel TVs and premium digital appliances.
In flat panel TVs, Samsung saw unit sales increase by 10 percent, outperforming the 6 percent overall market growth. The company maintained market leadership in monitors, increasing its share in models larger than 20 inches.
Samsung forecast the overall demand for TVs to grow in the 10-20 percent range but expected strong price competition as major manufacturers launched new product lineups. The company aimed to outperform the market by offering new models and focusing on LED, Full HD and premium design models. The Digital Appliance Division will offer new eco-friendly models with energy saving features to maintain market growth.
DisplaySearch analysts say that while the LED market is small in terms of overall sales, the high margin on each set will mean it has a relatively big impact on profits. They expect LED-backlit TV shipments to rise nearly fivefold to 32.4m units by 2015 with their share rising from 1.5 percent of total LCD TV sales this year to 8.3 percent in 2011.
About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2008 consolidated sales of US$96 billion. Employing approximately 164,600 people in 179 offices across 61 countries, the company consists of two business units: Digital Media & Communications and Device Solutions. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.
