A boost in Chinese-branded LCD TV exports saw the category enjoy its first month-to-month growth in March, following three months of declines, according to a report from research firm IHS.
More than 16.2 million LCD TVs shipped in March, a month-to-month jump of nearly 5% with Chinese TV brand shipments up almost 90% (from 2.4 million to 4.5 million units). Chinese brands accounted for 28% of all March LCD TV shipments.
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“Major global TV brands have adjusted their strategy this year to focus on profitability, avoiding severe competition in pursuit of market share,” said Ken Park, principal analyst of TV research for IHS Technology. “Chinese brands, in particular, have started to play a more critical role in the global TV market over the last year. E-commerce-focused brands like LeEco, Xiaomi and newcomer FunTV have also been aggressive in increasing production and shipments in the TV market this year, leveraging their online content portals to attract new customers.”
The share of set 50 inches and larger was up more than 6% in March to 22.4% of all LCD TVs, with the share of 4K TV sets growing to 21% of shipments.
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Year-over-year shipments from South Korea dropped 7.8% in March, with both Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics seeing contraction. “These two companies were able to benefit from the drop in panel prices and relatively conservative sales targets, targeting profits over absolute market share growth,” Park said.
