Sony's TV division head tells reporters that TV prices will fall. LG Display posts a 62 percent drop in profits.
The head of Sony’s TV division, Yoshihisa Ishida, expects TV prices to fall in the United States by the end of the year, reports Reuters. Weak demand and large inventories of unsold TVs are the main reasons for the price decline.
“I think TV prices as a whole will of course fall. There is a lot of inventory in the market,” said Ishida at a press briefing in Tokyo. “But what is different from the past is that we cannot necessarily rely on unit sales rising. We cannot be sure that manipulating prices will mean the market expands again.” The event marked the launch of the company’s line of Google-enhanced TVs in the United States.
According to Ishida, Sony may have to reconsider pricing for its Google TVs if consumers think it is too expensive compared to other televisions, but he doesn’t believe there will be dramatic cuts in its price, which is currently $400.
LG Display profits plummet
LG Display, the second largest maker of LCD screens reported a steep 62 percent decline in profits today due to low demand for electronics, verifying Ishida’s claims.
“We are hoping to see our sales to increase further in the fourth quarter considering its high seasonality, but set makers don’t seem confident about the real sales growth during the quarter,” said James Jeong, chief financial officer, at an investor’s meeting.
So what is going on? Has the HDTV market plateaued or are consumers simply looking for innovation? Perhaps consumers are all buying iPads instead?
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