Buffalo, N.Y. –
Fry’s Electronics ran the most retail newspaper ads touting TVs 40 inches and
larger during the first three months of the year.
According to IFR
Monitoring, here, which tracks ads in the 100 largest newspapers across the
U.S., the multiregional CE and appliance chain had a 15.1 share of all retail
advertising within the 40-inch and higher TV category.
The second-highest
share of newspaper ads for big-screen TVs belonged to Bill Smith Electronics
and Appliances. The 55-year-old Southwest Florida chain more than doubled its share
of print ads to 12.7 percent from full-year 2008 to the year-to-date period
ending March 31.
By comparison,
Best Buy was the sixth-largest print advertiser for TVs 40 inches and larger,
with a share of 4.4 percent, IFR said.
Best Buy trailed
BrandsMart USA, which ranked third with a 7.8 share; Sixth Avenue Electronics,
which came in fourth with a 7 share; and P.C. Richard & Son, which ran 5.1
percent of all retail newspaper ads for big-screen TVs during the three-month
period.
Fry’s had the
second-largest increase in print ad share for big-screen TVs after Bill Smith,
up nearly a full percentage point from 2008, while Sixth Ave. and Best Buy had
more modest gains of about half a percentage point each.
IFR said the
increased advertising reflected dealer efforts to take market share from Circuit
City, which entered its final phase of operations during the first quarter.
Big-screen TV ad
share for BrandsMart and P.C. Richards declined during the period, slipping about
1 percentage point for the former and 3 percentage points for the latter.
