Vizio Tops Q4 Market Share Reports

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 2/24/2011

Irvine, Calif. - A consensus of top U.S. TV display analysts showed that Vizio ranked No. 1 in U.S. LCD TV unit volume market share for the fourth quarter, while Samsung held on to the top overall flat-panel TV (combined plasma and LCD) dollar volume market share.

Studies from IHS iSuppli, DisplaySearch and Quixel Research all showed Vizio at the top of the heap for unit volume sales of LCD TVs once Q4 results were fully tabulated.

Top 5 Best Selling TV Models Q4 2010       Manufacturer Product Size Resolution Tech List Price Samsung LN32C350 32" HD 720 LCD $499 Vizio E320VL 32" HD 720 LCD $470 Vizio M260VA 26" HD 720 LCD $400 Vizio E420VO 42" HD 1080 LCD $664 Samsung LN40C500F3FXZA 40" HD 720 LCD $559 Source: Quixel Research

According to iSuppli reports, the brand ranked No. 1 in all flat-panel unit volume for the quarter and was the No. 1 U.S. brand of LCD TV for both the quarter for the year 2010.

 The "entertainment freedom for all" brand showed U.S. LCD HDTV shipments for 2010 at more than 21 percent market share, while its share during the fourth quarter clocked in at 28 percent, eclipsing second-ranked Samsung. iSuppli said the Q4 achievement was "the highest share any brand in the industry has achieved since 2004."

Tamaryn Pratt, Quixel Research principal said: "Vizio was indeed the market share leader in units for Q4 as they represented 28 percent of the total LCD TV category. Even more significant, the company's unit share grew almost 12 percent from Q4 2009 to Q4 2010."

Vizio's year-to-year growth rate reached 55 percent - also the highest in the industry for the period, and three of Vizio's models ranked in the top five Q4 best sellers in the U.S., including a popular big screen 42-inch model, according to Quixel Research.

Much of the brand's success came from better featured step-up models in the XVT series, said Paul Gagnon, DisplaySearch North American TV display research director. Even there, the brand continued its value positioning offering consumers bargain prices for features like LED backlighting and connected IPTV capability.

The strategy also helped No. 2 Samsung (in U.S. LCD unit volume) take top position in factory dollar volume in the fourth quarter in both the U.S. and the world, Gagnon said.

Gagnon said Vizio was the leading shipper of LED backlit HDTVs in North America in the fourth quarter.

According to Vizio, shipments of Vizio LED LCD TVs grew 993 percent year to year, while Full HD 1080p LCD TV shipments grew 44 percent year to year. In 46-inch and above screen sizes, Vizio's sales grew 92 percent year to year, while sales of 120Hz and higher models grew 119 percent year to year, according to the supplier.

"Vizio's growth was impressive in both the large and small screen sizes, where 42-inch sales were up 180 percent from Q3'10 to Q4'10 and 32-inch sales were up 189 percent for the same time period," said Quixel's Pratt.
"Looking at the 40-inch-plus LCD TV market, Vizio had plenty of competition from top brands as well as other value brands, and saw flat share results or represented about 18 percent of the total 40-inch-plus LCD TV market in both the third and fourth quarter of 2010."

"Vizio has also become a leader in some key advanced TV categories, rising to No. 1 in LED LCD TV unit shipments in North America and was No. 2 in high frame rate LCD and 40-inch-plus screen size," stated DisplaySearch's Gagnon.

Meanwhile, iSuppli ranked Vizio the No. 1 brand for all U.S. flat-panel unit volume in the fourth quarter.

"With its strong business in both plasma and LCD sets, Samsung historically has led this area. However, Vizio captured the lead because of aggressive shipments of feature-rich LCD TVs at attractive pricing through its distribution network," IHS iSuppli said in a statement on its report.

According to iSuppli, Vizio shipped 2.9 million flat-panel sets in Q4, up 78.9 percent from 1.6 million in the third quarter and a 55.5 percent increase from 1.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. This gave Vizio a 23.9 percent share of the U.S. flat-panel market in the fourth quarter, up from 16.6 percent in the third quarter.

Meanwhile, Samsung's share rose to 21.5 percent in the fourth quarter, up from 18.8 percent in the third, iSuppli said. While its share rose, the increase was not sufficient to keep it from falling to second place in the U.S. flat-panel television market.

Samsung shipped 2.6 million flat panel sets in the fourth quarter of 2010, up 41.5 percent from 1.8 million in the third quarter and a 22.8 percent rise from 2.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2009.

However, because Samsung led Vizio in flat-panel television shipments during the first three quarters of 2010, it maintained leadership for the year as a whole. Samsung accounted for 20.1 percent of U.S. flat-panel shipments in 2010, compared to 18.4 percent for Vizio, according to IHS iSuppli.

In other categories, Vizio said it also saw significant growth in soundbars and Blu-ray Disc players last year.

Vizio brand soundbars led the category in Q4, on sales growth of 200 percent quarter to quarter, while sales of Blu-ray players grew 163 percent, according to Vizio.

Vizio attributed the success to its wide assortment of products and capabilities.