Indianapolis — ON, which now markets LCD TVs under Thomson’s former Proscan brand, said it has reached strategic supply agreements with China’s Hisense and Taiwan’s Chi Mei Optoelectronics (CMO) to ensure product availability through 2008.
Hisense will perform final assembly on finished goods, while CMO will supply ON with LCD panels, the company said. Hisense, which is one of China’s largest final-assembly manufacturers of TV products, currently produces many of the TVs sold under private labels though national electronics chains. The Hisense agreement includes the development and manufacturing of Proscan-brand LCD and LCD/DVD combination televisions shipping this year in screen sizes from 19-inches through 65-inches, ON said in a statement announcing the deal.
ON said Chi Mei Optoelectronics, one of the world’s larger producers of LCD panels, is “guaranteeing the supply of 500,000 LCD panels this year” in screen sizes ranging from 26 inches to 65 inches. The company licensed the Proscan brand from Thomson two years ago, and lists Sears, Aaron’s Rents, Electronics Expo, Canadian Tire and DBL Distributing, among its retail and distributor customers. The company said it plans to expand distribution throughout 2008 with a broader mix of new products made possible by the agreements with CMO and Hisense.
ON is Korea’s third-largest exporter of LCD televisions and offers consumer-directed flat-screen TV products to the Americas, Europe, Australia, Africa and the Middle East.
“With American consumers expected to purchase nearly 30 million televisions this year, we’re very optimistic about the market opportunity with the highly-regarded Proscan brand,” stated John Lee, ON’s CEO. “We have a superb product range, elegant styling and affordable prices that consumers like.”
“With these new panel supply and production agreements in place, we look forward to expanding Proscan LCD TV distribution to reach even more consumers,” Lee said.
