Major Korean Brands Retained Their Top Positions in the Busy 2014 LCD-TV Markets, Reports TrendForce

LCD TV shipments in 2014 were above expectations with a total of 215 million units shipped and an annual growth of 5.4%, according to WitsView, a division of TrendForce. WitsView’s Research Manager KK Chang listed several factors behind the bustling LCD TV market in 2014. These included North America’s economic recovery, growth driven by the promotion of large-size TVs and PDP replacement demands. Additionally, this year experienced the largest wave of replacement demands for the first time since 2007. 

Chinese brands took half of the top ten spots on the account of their aggressive rise 

Korean brand Samsung was again the leader of the brand shipment rankings for 2014 with 22.8% of the LCD TV market share. Samsung secured its top brand status because of its successful strategy of pricing large-size TVs competitively. LGE retained its number two position in 2014 with 14% of the market share, way behind the leader but also far ahead of number three. 

Major Japanese vendor SONY had a tumultuous 2014 with its TV business split out into a separate company. Nonetheless, its brand equity became useful as the demand for large-size TV surged. SONY’s overall performance was impressive as it took 6.8% of the market share, allowing the brand to knock off TCL and regain its number three position. 

More Chinese brands were on the top ten list in 2014, occupying positions from the fourth to the seventh. This was a commanding performance compared with the previous year, when only three Chinese vendors managed to squeeze into the shipment rankings. Among the Chinese brands, TCL and Hisense had lower purchasing costs compared to the others, so they were able to promote their products with the most aggressive sales strategies. “The Chinese brands are facing saturation of the domestic market and persistent challenges from major international brands abroad,” Chang noted, “but their momentums have been overwhelming.” Chinese brands had thus steadily narrowed their distances with their Japanese rivals in 2014.