Global LCD TV shipments grew 4% on year in first-quarter 2013 to 44.8 million sets, led by strong growth in China, according to research firm DisplaySearch. The improved growth is largely the result of timing of the Lunar New Year, which saw a strong 28% on-year increase in LCD TV shipments in China.
"Excluding China, worldwide LCD TV growth was actually down almost 4% from the previous year, demonstrating how important China has become to the global TV industry," said Paul Gagnon, director of global TV research for DisplaySearch.
The growth of LCD TV shipments worldwide has not been strong enough to offset the decline in plasma and CRT TV shipments, particularly in emerging markets. Overall CRT TV shipments fell 57% in the first quarter. While this decline in shipments has accelerated significantly during the last few quarters, LCD TV prices are still too high to be competitive with similar CRT TVs for Asia Pacific, Latin America, and other emerging regions. Plasma TV demand has declined as well, with all brands outside of China reporting decreased sales volume, as the category slowly winds down.
Samsung remained the top global flat-panel TV brand, on both a unit and revenue basis, and its global revenue share remained stable at about 28%. Samsung was the top-ranked manufacturer for both LCD and plasma TVs. LGE remained in the second-ranked position, but the company improved its revenue share to 16.6% of flat panel TVs, with revenue up 4% on year.
TCL was the first China-based TV brand to break into the top three on a revenue and unit basis, after entering the top five during fourth-quarter 2012. This rise is the result both of the increased share that China has gained in the global market and of TCL's strong share within China.
Although Sharp and Sony rounded out the top five brands on a revenue basis, all major Japan-based brands lost market share compared to the previous year. Sony's global flat-panel TV revenue share fell most sharply, from 9.1% a year ago, to 5.1% in first-quarter 2013. | 