China market: Samsung keeps top position in LCD monitor market
Jimmy Hsu, Taipei; Carrie Yu, DigiTimes.com [Friday 13 August 2004]
Samsung Electronics again topped the LCD-monitor market by taking a 34.4% market share in the second quarter, according to China-based CCID (China Center of Information Industry Development) Consulting. The seven top LCD monitor brands grabbed over 95% of the market in the second quarter, with China-based and second-tier brands accounting for only 3.5% of the market, according to Vincent Huang, president of Chunghwa Information Communication Technology (CICT), the Taiwan-based marketing agent of CCID. Samsung significantly increased its share by applying successful market differentiation, having a sufficient panel supply and maintaining a large advertising budget, Huang pointed out. Royal Philips Electronics, LG Electronic (LGE) and ViewSonic saw little change in their respective market shares in the first and second quarter, while BenQ became a top-five brand in the second quarter with a 12.4% share. BenQ positions itself in China as a global brand, as opposed to other Taiwan brands, such as Asustek Computer and Acer, that position themselves as Greater China companies, Huang stated. BenQ also has a good chance of winning a larger share of the China LCD monitor market since it has been improving its brand image through sponsorships such as the Euro 2004, Huang added. In the second quarter, approximately 3.7 million LCD monitors were sold in China, representing a 37.5% jump, compared to the same period a year earlier, and accounting for 18% of the total monitor market in China, according to CICT. The sharp growth was mainly due to aggressive price cuts from LCD monitor makers, Huang said, adding that prices are expected to fall 10% in the third quarter. LCD monitors will account for 20-25% of the total monitor market in the third quarter, he predicted. Sales of LCD monitors will gradually overtake CRT monitors, as monitor makers release more LCD monitors and less CRT models in China, Huang indicated. Samsung released 15 new LCD monitor models in 2004 and only eight CRT models. LGE introduced eleven LCD models, and TPV Technology introduced one. So far this year, all the monitors Philips and ViewSonic have launched in the market have been LCD monitors. CRT monitor shipments fell slightly in the second quarter to 1.4 million units. CRT prices did not drop significantly in the second quarter since CRT supply was tight. Also, prices of LCD monitors dropped to a more acceptable level, so consumers were more willing to purchase LCD monitors, Huang explained.
LCD monitor makers: 2004 China market share
Brand 1Q 2Q Q/Q § Samsung§28.5% 34.4% 5.9pp
Philips§13.72% 14.1% 0.38pp
LGE§13.69% 13.7% 0.01pp TPV Technology 9.81% 7.5% (2.31pp)
ViewSonic§13.61% 11.2% (2.41pp)
BenQ§11.18% 12.4% 1.22pp
Jean 4.77% 3.5%(1.27pp) § Source: CICT, compiled by DigiTimes, August 2004.
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