ViewSonic Inc expected revenue in China to grow 36 percent next
year through rapidly growing demand for large LCD TVs, which is
fueled by the country's gradual transition to digital TV and the
2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Shanghai Daily
learned yesterday.
ViewSonic China's revenue will hit US$360 million in 2008
compared with US$260 million this year and US$200 million in 2006,
Edward Yue, ViewSonic China's marketing division director, said in
an exclusive interview.
ViewSonic, a US-based provider of visual display products, bets
the high growth rate on the sales of 32-inch or above LCD (liquid
crystal display) TVs, which will reach about 30,000 units next year
compared with 18,000 this year.
Half of the ViewSonic LCD TVs sold in China next year will be HD
(high-definition) models, which support digitized TV programs and
even BlueRay videos, Yue told Shanghai Daily.
"It is an irresistible attraction for people here to upgrade
their TVs while the Olympics are held in their hometown and the TV
signal becomes digitized," Yue said.
In the first nine months, LCD TV output totaled 11.08 million in
China, a 71.6 percent jump from a year ago. The LCD output had
accounted for 19.5 percent of all TV models, adding 8.4 percentage
points, according to the Ministry of Information Industry.
The LCD TV cost will decrease 10 to 15 percent annually within
the next three years until 2010, which will hasten the popularity
of LCD TV, according to US-based research firm DisplaySearch.
"We have been recognized as the tier-one LCD TV brand in China
(along with Sharp, Samsung and LG) and that has proven
profitability," Yue said.
In the fiercely-competed domestic LCD market, with about 25
players, the top vendors get the 80 percent of the profit, industry
insiders said.
In the commercial LCD TV market, ViewSonic jumped rapidly to
occupy 32 percent market share in the greater-than-30-inch LCD TV
category globally, DisplaySearch said in a recent note.
(Shanghai Daily December 28, 2007)
