Meko’s latest DisplayCast report shows that European TV sales fell by 8.6% to 16.4 million sets in the third quarter of 2010. Flat panel sell-in quantity was also down quarterly to 15.3 million TV sets, while LED-backlit TV shipments were up to 24% of volume sales from 19% in quarter two.
The difference was mainly due to a decline in Western Europe as World Cup promotions brought the demand forward from quarter three to quarter two.
On a more positive note, the research also indicates that the EMEA TV market increased by 2.15% over the same quarter last year, while flat panel shipments of LCD and PDP TVs rose by 6.1%.
In Western Europe the markets which showed the highest decline were Spain, France, the UK and Italy. TV sell-in shipments to Spain were down by 40% quarter on quarter.
The fall was predictable, according to Goksen Sertler, Meko’s senior analyst for the TV market, “In the first quarter, sell-in to Spain was pushed up because of digital switchover. In the second quarter, World Cup promotions kept the demand strong. After two consecutive strong quarters, it was no surprise to see very weak sell-in”. She added, “Our regular inventory tracking data showed us that there was a lot of inventory in the market already at the beginning of Q3. Set and panel makers are keen to sell the more expensive sets with LED backlights, but there is some consumer resistance to current pricing levels. However, the overall drop in sales last quarter was in line with our TV market forecast”.
TV brand ranking was the same as in the previous quarter with Samsung, LG and Sony as the top three brands followed by Philips and Panasonic.
