As consumers' appetite grows, Amtran aims to ship 80 percent
more Vizio TVs globally next year, boosting revenue as much
as 54 percent to NT$100 billion from this year's NT$65 billion,
Chiu said in an interview.
Next year's sales would beat a
forecast for a 32 percent rise to NT$85.8 billion, made by
Reuters Estimates.
"There have been some worries
about the subprime market but TV prices have come down to
a level that most people can accept, so the market will be
growing," Chiu said at a show room, where the company
displays a line of shinny, monster LCD TVs.
It is virtually unknown to consumers
before joining hands with its U.S. partner, Vizio Inc., in
2005 to penetrate the North America market.
With a low-price strategy and good
manufacturing quality, Vizio TVs have proved a hit this year.
In North America, Vizio TVs had
a market share of 13 percent in the third quarter, followed
by big TV brand Samsung's 12.8 percent, Sharp's 12 percent
and Sony's 10 percent, according to market researcher iSuppli
Corp.
Sales of its televisions in North
America in the week of Christmas should be about double the
level of normal weeks, when it ships 40,000 to 50,000 units,
he added.
Consumers can shop Vizio TVs on
the shelves of big retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores and
Costco. The selling price of a 42-inch Vizio TV is about half
of that of a similar model by Sony.
The Taiwan LCD TV maker, which
buys panels from major LCD suppliers, such as Samsung and
AU Optronics Corp., gave the forecasts after the Taipei stock
market closed yesterday, when its stock jumped 2.6 percent
to NT$33.4, in line with the big board's gain.
Citigroup put a "buy"
rating on Amtran on its strong outlook. Some TV makers have
also expressed interest in investing in Amtran, Chiu said.
No details were given.
For next year, Amtran hopes to
duplicate its success in North America to China by teaming
up with retailers there, Chiu said but declined to identify
potential partners.
A new labor contract law is likely
to push up business costs in China next year but it seems
not a concern for Amtran.
"The bulk of our costs are
from panels and some IC components and labor cost make up
only about 2 percent," Chiu said.
"The
impact will be minor."(The China Post) |
