Video Sales

Staff On Nov 12 2001 - 8:00am

Consumer electronics retailers saw analog-based video product sales continue to plunge in October, as all categories except DVD video players, under performed results of a year ago.

According to Consumer Electronics Association sales-to-dealer numbers for October, analog direct-view televisions slipped 18.3 percent in the month to 1.92 million units. The category has now posted negative year-to-year growth for seven straight months. Year-to-date totals for the category are now down 13.2 percent at 16.68 million units from a year ago.

The month's annualized selling rate, which is based on traditional selling patterns, registered 18.48 million units, while the average selling rate for the first 10 months totaled 20.7 million.

TV/VCR combo units followed September's growth with a 23.9 percent decline in factory unit sales for the month to 411,939. Cumulative totals for the year also fell 8.8 percent to 3.68 million units. The annualized selling rate for the month is 3.6 million, while the average selling rate for the year is 4.52 million.

Analog rear projection TV sales continued to feel the brunt of the nation's transition to digital broadcasting, by posting the seventh straight month of double-digit declines. October numbers were down 25.6 percent to 82,848 units, pushing the year's cumulative total down 23.9 percent to 744,672 units. The annualized selling rate shows 3.6 million units, while the average selling rate for the year came in at 4.5 million.

VCR decks registered their worst month of the year, with factory unit sales down 61.7 percent to 1.1 million, while the cumulative total for the year dropped 36.2 percent to 12.1 million. The annualized selling rate for the category came in at 9.4 million, while the average rate for the year was 15 million.

Camcorders posted their second worst month of the year, with sales down 33.2 percent to 469,052 units. The cumulative total for 10 months reached 4.2 million, off 12.8 percent from a year ago. The annualized selling rate now stands at 4.03 million, while the rate for the year is 5.06 million.

Again, DVD video players stood as the lone bright spot among video categories whose sales are reported weekly by CEA. The category was up 22.6 percent at 1.5 million units for the month, while totals for the year were up 43.2 percent at 9.06 million units.

Video Industry Sales Scorecard
Factory and distributor sales to dealers, as reported by the Consumer Electronics Association:

PRODUCT	WEEK TO OCT. 26	2000 WEEK	% CHG.	43 WEEKS 2001	43 WEEKS 2000	% CHG.
Total Color*	898,745	1,260,642	-28.7	21,110,826	24,010,069	-12.1
Total Direct View	867,276	1,208,487	-28.2	20,366,154	23,265,397	-12.5
Color-Only	702,903	993,786	-29.3	16,685,063	19,230,197	-13.2
TV/VCR Combos	164,373	214,701	-23.4	3,681,091	4,035,200	-8.8
Projection	31,469	52,155	-39.7	744,672	978,273	-23.9
Total VCR	952,107	1,998,465	-52.4	20,007,895	27,859,354	-28.2
Total Home VCR**	766,876	1,568,959	-51.1	15,805,943	23,040,184	-31.4
VCR Decks	602,503	1,354,258	-55.5	12,124,852	19,004,984	-36.2
Camcorders	185,231	429,506	-56.9	4,201,952	4,819,170	-12.8
DVD Players	770,835	768,381	0.3	9,062,764	6,328,947	43.2
*Analog only **Includes TV/VCR Combos