Q4 Audio Sales Firm Up, But '01 Sales Slide 5.9%

By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 3/11/2002

Arlington, Va. — Factory-level audio sales skidded 5.9% to $8.08 billion in 2001 despite a fourth-quarter firming of sales, interrupting four consecutive years of growth, CEA statistics show.

All major sectors — home components, home systems, aftermarket autosound, and portables — were down for the year.

December's total sales rose a meager 0.2% to $551.7 million, and fourth-quarter volume slid 0.6% to $2.38 billion. Nonetheless, fourth-quarter sales firmed up significantly compared to the preceding two quarters. Third-quarter sales were off 11.7%, and second-quarter sales were down 9.9%. First-quarter sales slipped only 1.2%.

Sales firmed up in the fourth quarter because of aftermarket autosound growth and a turnaround in the home component business. Sales of portable and home systems fell during the quarter.

In the second half, total sales fell 6.1% to $4.44 billion, only slightly exceeding the first half's 5.9% decline.

Here's what CEA found for the month, quarter and half in each major audio segment:

Home Components: Sales turned around significantly in November, December, and the quarter. December sale rose 14.2% to $123.4 million, and fourth-quarter sales were up 3.4% to $414.3 million.

The November-December growth followed 10 months in which sales fell every month but one, so second-half sales were off 8.7% to $726.5 million, and full-year sales were off 10.9% to $1.36 billion.

The full-year decline followed a 5.6% gain in 2000, which followed four consecutive years of shrinkage.

Aftermarket autosound: Sales rose 8.3% for the month to $115.3 million and 4.6% for the quarter to $486.1 million, but sales for the second half and full year were down, respectively, by 3.2% to $1.01 billion and 1.6% to $2.14 billion.

Fourth-quarter sales also benefited from a strong 20% gain in November sales.

Home Systems: Five consecutive years of growth came to an end in 2001, when sales declined 1.1% to $2.19 billion. The decline came despite spectacular growth in home-theater-in-a-box (HTiB) electronics/ speaker packages. Minisystem sales fell, in part because younger consumers are turning to PCs to listen to music, suppliers said.

December sales were off 2.8% to $165.5 million, with fourth-quarter sales declining 0.2% to $731.6 million and second-half sales declining 1.1% to $1.33 billion.

Total Home (components, systems): December sales rose 3.8% to $288.8 million, with sales declining 0.4% to $1.15 billion for the quarter, declining 0.9% to $2.06 billion for the half, and rising 0.8% for the year to $3.55 billion. The figures exclude home radios, counted as portables.

Portable audio: Sales were off for the month, quarter, half and year. December's 11% decline to $147.6 million contributed to a 6.1% fourth-quarter drop to $749.9 million. That, in turn, contributed to a second-half decline of 11% to $1.38 billion and a full-year decline of 10.5% to $2.39 billion, a level only slightly above 1997's full-year sales.

The sales include home radios.

December, 4th Qtr., 2nd Half, Full-Year Audio Sales Factory level, in millions, 2001

	December	4th Qtr.	2nd Half	Full Year
Portables1	$147.6 ( -11.0%)	$749.9 (-6.1%)	$1,377.9 (-11.0%)	$2,394.0 (-10.5%)
Home Components2	$123.4 (+14.2%)	$414.3 (+3.4%)	$726.5 (-8.7%)	$1,356.9 (-10.9%)
Home Systems3	$165.5 (-2.8%)	$731.6 (-0.2%)	$1,332.4 (-1.1%)	$2,193.3 (-1.1%)
Aftermarket Autosound*	$115.3 (+8.3%)	$486.1 (+4.6%)	$1,008.2 (-3.2%)	$2,135.0 (-1.6%)
Total Audio*	$551.7 (+0.2%)	$2,381.8 (-0.6%)	$4,444.9 (-6.1%)	$8,079.1 (-5.9%)
*reflects Nov. addition of satellite radio sales to autosound numbers 1 includes home radios 2 Consists of electronic components, speakers 3 Consists of shelf, rack and home-theater-in-a-box electronics/speaker systems Source: Consumer Electronics Association, Arlington, Va. ©TWICE 2002

U.S. Retail Computer Product Sales: 2001 vs. 2000

	2000 Sales	2001 Sales	Growth
December	$3,267,331,629	$3,322,274,678	1.7%
Fourth Quarter	$7,263,397,047	$7,424,809,823	2.2%
Total Year	$25,898,034,298	$25,709,006,028	-0.7%
Revenue Growth for Broad Categories
	2001 vs. 2000	Q4 2001 vs. Q4 2000	Dec 2001 vs. Dec 2000
Computers	-19.6%	-13.3%	-9.1%
Consumables	24.9%	27.2%	23.0%
PC Peripherals	-7.1%	1.0%	2.9%
PC Accessories	12.7%	4.5%	1.1%
Fastest Growing Major Product Categories
	2001 vs. 2000	Q4 2001 vs. Q4 2000	Dec 2001 vs. Dec 2000
LCD Monitors	261.7%	335.4%	391.8%
External Hard Drives	182.0%	64.3%	63.6%
Memory Cards	142.9%	116.7%	115.9%
Network Access Points	128.3%	97.8%	100.9%
Storage Media- CD-R	37.8%	31.3%	23.1%
Ink Cartridges	35.9%	27.7%	22.9%
Source: NPDTechworld ©TWICE 2002

Five-Year Audio Sales*
Factory level, in millions

2001	$8,079.10	-5.90%
2000	$8,585.30	6.30%
1999	$8,073.30	2.10%
1998	$7,904.10	2.40%
1997	$7,721.70	-0.50%
*Home, portable, and aftermarket car audio
Source: CEA, Arlington, Va. ©TWICE 2002