Vizio Now Number Two in Flat Panel Sales

During the fourth quarter of 2008, Vizio did something that would once have been unthinkable: outsold Sony in the U.S. flat-panel television market.

Cut-rate flat-panel television manufacturer Vizio has been endearing U.S. consumers with its more-affordable (and often decently-specced) flat panel televisions for a few years now, but in the fourth quarter of 2008 the company managed something that once would have been unthinkable: according to iSuppli, they outsold electronics giant Sony. That’s right: at least as far as flat panel televisions in the U.S. market are concerned, Vizio accounted for 14.3 percent of the overall market, an increase of 3.11 percent from the third quarter of 2008. In contrast, Sony and Samsung both saw their market shares slip during the fourth quarter (by 0.42 and 0.62 percent, respectively, although Samsung remains the top player with a 20.2 percent share. Sony slipped to number three with a 13.9 percent share.

“A cornerstone of Vizio’s selling strategy is Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, which features the company’s LCD-TV products,” said iSuppli principal analyst for television systems Riddhi Patel, in a statement. “U.S. consumers in November and December 2008 bought more televisions at Wal-Mart than at Best Buy, the first time this has occurred in the two years iSuppli has been conducting research in this area.”

“The demand for Vizio products has never been stronger,” said Vizio co-founder and VP of sales Laynie Newsome, in a statement. “Even during times when tier one competitors drop their prices (and lose millions of dollars in the process) the American consumer clearly recognizes VIZIO as a preferred consumer electronics brand.”

Of course, the U.S. market for flat-panel television is being impacted by the recession, and iSuppli noes that the economic climate is making consumers to place less emphasis on brands and more emphasis on pricing.