TWICE:
Retailers are complaining about
HDTV shortages and spot shortages
in other areas. What’s the prognosis for
product availability in the second half?
Warren Chaiken, president/COO,
Almo:
While some manufacturers were
later than usual with new product deliveries,
we are not seeing an overall
HDTV shortage. What we are seeing
are very specific shortages in 720p plasma
[and some] screen sizes. We expect
these items to remain tight for the second
half and are in the process of securing
other options for our customers.
David Kaplan, executive director, Digital
Delivery Group:
We’ve experienced
product shortages in televisions as vendors
proceed through this year’s new
model line transitions coupled with a
few shortages elsewhere due to some hot
new products and some unexpected upticks
in demand. The economy and consumer’s
desire to spend (or not to spend)
is a variable we cannot control but I
think product availability overall will be
reasonably good in the second half.
Mark A. Gustavson, executive director/
marketing and communication,
WYNIT:
If there is a “bright spot” in
the CE space, it revolves around video,
and is primarily driven by the increased
penetration of in-home Wi-Fi, as well
as social media and other convergent
technologies. We have seen some availability
issues with products that enable
users to easily capture, edit and share
video content, but expect manufacturers
to respond well over the summer,
gearing up for fall buying season.
Jeff Davis, sales senior VP at D&H Distributing:
At the distribution level, 720pbranded
product is showing itself to be in
tight supply. Vendors have expressed that
will continue well into the summer. 3D
product is also very constrained, with no
immediate relief in sight.
Dennis Holzer, executive director,
PowerHouse Alliance:
There have been
shortages throughout the industry, but
more so in HDTV. At a time, when
business has increased, these shortages
have hurt, but more importantly caught
most by surprise. We are being told
that product allocations will increase in
the second half, but we also expect our
business to continually increase.
With that said, our members have increased
their orders and have planned
accordingly in all categories so they
don’t get caught short, and our customers
can be confident they will have the
access to the product when needed.
Fred Towns, sales and marketing senior
VP, New Age Electronics:
Yes, there
have been HDTV shortages, and we’ve
seen it across multiple brands. Manufacturer
partners have been watching
there inventory carefully, and by late
summer we expect to be ramped up
to meet the holiday demand across all
brands and all technologies.
Doug Robison, president, DSI Systems:
The primary issues are 32-inch
panels and 720p plasma. They are both
in high demand, and supply is very
tight. I think that the 32-inch problem
will get much better in the second
half, but 720p plasma could be tough
all year.
