DisplaySearch Slates TV Supply Forum
By TWICE Staff -- TWICE, 5/15/2008
Austin, Texas — The latest U.S. economic indicators, including a drop in the Consumer Confidence Index to five-year lows, point to further tightening of consumer spending.
Energy prices remain high and home prices continue to fall, making necessities a bigger part of the monthly household budget and placing pressure on how consumers spend the discretionary income that remains.
The rollouts of tax rebates, funded by the U.S. Economic Stimulus package, are being accelerated in an effort to head off a recession. But is it enough to elevate spending on consumer electronics, TVs in particular?
DisplaySearch will investigate how all this affects stakeholders in the TV industry at the upcoming 2008 U.S. TV Supply Chain Conference, to take place June 5-6, 2008 at the Hilton San Diego Resort.
Recent shipment results for Plasma panels and LCD panels indicate robust growth in early 2008. Plasma panel shipments rose 53 percent year-to-year in Q1 2008 and TFT LCD panels used in TV applications rose an impressive 88 percent year-to-year during the same period. So demand for panels used in flat-panel TV products remains high, but do TV brands have the same rosy outlook for end-user demand?
Other issues that will also be addressed at the conference include:
· Which products and channels stand to lose the most from a slowdown in U.S. consumer spending? The looming deadline for the digital TV transition in the U.S. is certainly providing a boost to consumer spending on TVs and related services, but is it enough to overcome the downward pressure from the lagging economy? How can brands and retailers extract maximum benefit from the transition?
· Is a TV price war imminent? A price war in the U.S. would boost TV spending and consolidate market share. Top players see this as a leading strategy to prompt consumer spending and push weaker companies out of the market, but will it work?
· What changes in TV product mix should retailers contemplate for the holiday shopping season? What trends will impact the 2009 TV market? How will they affect brand and retailer strategies?
· Will second- and third-tier merchant brands receive adequate allocations of panels from panel makers this year to fulfill demand, and if so will it be at a lower price than captive internal brands?
· With flat-panel TVs no longer a novelty, what will be the drivers of value and profitability in the coming years?
DisplaySearch analysts will delve into all parts of the supply chain to look for opportunities, and leading companies will present the best practices that enable them to succeed. The conference will also look to the future of TV development and at technologies that may redefine what a TV is and how advances can help both brands and retailers keep up with consumer trends.
This year’s conference will feature insights from executives at Samsung Electronics, AMD, the LCD TV Association, Trident, Jabil, NOVA Chemicals, Zoran, North American Production Sharing, Macrovision, EMO Labs, Platt Retail Institute, Sears Holding, Blockbuster, American TV, SRS Labs, Dolby, Strata Capital Management and Esq. Zisser Customers Law Group, among others.
The event brings together the entire TV supply chain, including retailers, TV brands, panel suppliers, TV electronics suppliers, other component suppliers and financial analysts, providing an unequaled opportunity to discuss TV supply chain trends, including efficiency improvements, best-known methods to increase margins, opportunities for profits and a view of the future.
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