Vizio Claims Q4 Flat-Panel Advances

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 2/19/2009

Irvine, Calif. — Vizio called out recent market research reports showing the value flat-panel TV brand ranked second in unit shipments in one preliminary study and third in another among overall flat-panel TV bands during the fourth quarter of 2008.

The second-place ranking, which was made by iSuppli, credited Vizio with 14.3 percent share of the U.S. flat-panel market in the period -- following only Samsung -- after seeing 15 percent year-over-year growth. In the period Vizio sold both LCD TVs and plasma TVs, although the company recently decided to drop plasma from its 2009 line.

According to iSuppli, Vizio shipped 1,238,840 units in the quarter, which stands as the company’s largest quarter to date.

“The demand for Vizio products has never been stronger,” stated Laynie Newsome, Vizio co-founder and sales and marketing communications VP. “Even during times when tier-one competitors drop their prices, and lose millions of dollars in the process, the American consumer clearly recognizes Vizio as a preferred consumer electronics brand.”

Vizio demonstrated 53 percent quarter-to-quarter flat-panel TV growth in Q4 2008, the strongest among the top 10 brands for all of North America, according to DisplaySearch's shipment tracking.

The brand grew from No. 5 to No. 3 in total flat-panel TV units while basically only participating in the U.S. market, said Paul Gagnon, DisplaySearch North America TV market research director.

“We expect that consumers in 2009 will be especially concerned with getting the most value for their money, which aligns well with Vizio's product strategy, even in their premium XVT line,” Gagnon said.

Even in a difficult retail environment, Vizio exceeded its sales goals by significantly increasing holiday (Nov. 24 – Dec. 31) unit sales by 52 percent over 2007 levels. Vizio’s sales momentum has continued through to the first quarter of 2009, with increased demand from key retail partners.

“According to our initial analysis and despite the current economic downturn, Vizio has moved to the No. 2 position in the U.S. flat-panel TV market during the critical fourth quarter,” said Riddhi Patel, iSuppli principal analyst. “The current sales environment is obviously difficult for all television makers due to the slowdown in consumer spending — retaining position and achieving growth in these challenging times is an accomplishment.”

“Vizio has already shown incredible success in offering models that accelerate their unit sales according to Quixel’s quarterly reports,” said Tamaryn Pratt, Quixel Research principal. “The brand regularly ranks among the top five best-sellers in the U.S. for flat-panel TVs. This quarter was no different, with the brand’s VW32L and VW22L models placing first and fifth in unit sales.”