LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. – Looking to build its digital television market share through the Internet, Zenith announced it has agreed to distribute digital televisions and other high-end digital products through e-commerce retailer Amazon.com.
Under the deal, Amazon – a pure-play Internet retailer – will become Zenith’s “nationwide authorized online retailer.”
Amazon will sell Zenith’s line-up of digital products from HDTV sets and LCD displays to DVD players and digital audio products.
Zenith will make available to Amazon “in coming months” its full line of plasma display panels, in screen sizes from 40 to 60 inches.
Zenith products will be featured in Amazon.com’s targeted national print advertising program beginning this month.
The Amazon.com deal represents the cornerstone of Zenith’s online sales strategy and a key element of its brand repositioning as the digital leader, stated Ken Lee, Zenith sales and marketing senior VP.
“Amazon.com’s commitment to customer satisfaction mirrors our own, making it the perfect fit as Zenith continues to build awareness of our digital products in the marketplace,” Lee said. “This exciting new agreement, which complements our traditional sales channels, will expand our online retail presence significantly by exposing tech-savvy consumers to the next generation of Zenith digital products,” he said.
The deal marks a reversal from Zenith’s previously stated policy of making products available for e-commerce only with accounts that have a brick-and-mortar presence.
The authorization was the second major CE coup for Amazon in as many months. In June, longtime holdout Sony finally sanctioned the e-tailer to carry a limited assortment of Clies, digital cameras, camcorders, portable music recorders and players, and Vaio notebooks, PCs and monitors.
