Arlington, Va. – Factory sales of digital video products, including DVD players and camcorders, posted significant gains in July, according to figures released by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).
Factory-to-dealer sales of DVD players reached 890,417 units – up more than 28 percent from July 2001, CEA reported, while manufacturer-to-dealer sales of camcorders grew by more than 21 percent to 353,493 units for the month.
Year-to-date unit sales also are on the rise, with DVD player sales up more than 41 percent over 2001 to 7,211,650 units. Sales of DVD players are well above initial projections for the year. CEA originally forecasted an increase of 25 percent over year-end totals for 2001, but impressive sales in 2002 already have boosted projections to a gain of nearly 40 percent by year-end.
In addition, camcorder factory-to-dealer sales reached 3,217,667 units for the year, representing an 11 percent increase over year-to-date totals from the same period during 2001.
According to the most recent CEA report on digital television sets and monitors, factory sales surged 85 percent to $294 million for the month of June. The July report is still pending.
