The first quarter of 2011 brought a severe drop in TV sales, particularly in Western Europe, where the overall fall was 10% year on year (YoY). According to European TV research specialists, Meko, these are the first Q1 falls since they started tracking the market in 2004 and the third quarter in a row that sales in Western Europe have declined.
Total EMEA TV shipments were down by 4.4% YoY to 17 million units. Eastern Europe saw a slight increase at 1% while the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region showed an 11% YoY increase in volumes. The UK, Spain and Italy struggled the most, showing around 18% YoY decline.
Flat screen TVs account for about 50% of sales revenue in consumer electronics (CE) spending in the EU overall. Therefore a decline in TV set sales is certain to affect CE sales channels as well as TV set makers.
LED backlit LCD TV sets in Western Europe accounted for 39% of total shipments; the largest markets are Germany, France and the Netherlands.
Meko´s Senior TV Analyst, Goksen Sertler, commented, “We see stock levels in May climbing to 31% above their balance situation. TV brands are suffering with a lot of high-end TV model stocks especially LED-backlit and Stereo 3D (S3D) models. Most of the TV brands have been very aggressive in introducing LED backlit models. However, in Europe, not many consumers are ready to pay around a 40% price premium for a 40″ LED backlit LCD TV model especially during difficult economic times”.
“We expect the second half of 2011 to recover slightly”, adds Sertler. “However Europe´s TV set sales market value overall for 2011 is forecast to be lower than 2010”.
