Sony aims to hit Korea with 3D TV onslaught
By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff reporter
In the competitive market for flat-screen televisions, Samsung Electronics reigns as at the expense of a dethroned Sony.
However, the iconic Japanese electronics maker vows to regain its upper-hand and might as well start with attacking the Korean technology giant on its home-turf, just like Apple successfully did with smartphones in the past year.
Sony is accelerating its marketing push for its three-dimensional (3D)-enabled televisions, which have been pegged as the natural successor to the high-definition (HD) flat screens of today.
Sony believes that its still-strong reputation for technology and quality will help it shake the Samsung-LG Electronics duopoly in the local market for premium televisions, and it realistically expects to compete in prices too.
Although television manufacturers around the world have just begun shipping their first 3D televisions to the market, the hefty price-tags of the products have made consumers hesitant.
Sony, however, is promising to deliver its 3D televisions at ``considerably lower’’ prices compared to those currently in the stores, intending to give Samsung and LG a run for their money.
Sony will offer its 52-inch and 60-inch Bravia 3D light-emitting diode (LED) backlit liquid crystal display (LCD) television sets at 4.4 million won and 7.4 million won ($3,600 and $6,000), respectively, including the special glasses for stereoscopic viewing.
Samsung has been selling its 46-inch 3D LED-backlit LCD television model for 4.2 million won and its 55-inch model for 5.8 million won. LG, Korea’s other electronics giant that recently sped past Sony for the runner-up spot in the television market, sells its 47-inch 3D LED-backlit television at 4.7 million won and its 55-inch set at 6.3 million won.
``Sony has turned aggressive in the price competition. It is providing its latest 3D LED-backlit LCD televisions at prices that compete favorably against the products of Samsung and LG,’’ said Baek Jong-suk, an analyst at Hyundai Securities, Friday.
``This is quite an impressive approach, as Sony had built its reputation on offering expensive, premium products.’’
Sony said its aggressive pricing of mid-range products reflects its shifting strategy for the Korean market, where it looks to improve the penetration of its products.
However, officials from Sony’s Korean branch declined to be more specific about its future pricing of other key products.
Sony is pushing hard to boost its television sales in key markets across the globe, and with the Korean won growing stronger against the Japanese yen, Samsung and LG just might have a serious threat on their hands, according to industry watchers.
Sony’s television efforts will get another jolt when it launches the so-called ``Google TV’’ sometime during the second-half of the year, as it looks to get out of the gate earlier than its competitors in Web-enabled, ``smart’’ televisions.
Samsung, LG forced to shed prices
Although Sony is making a renewed push for the Korean television market, challenging Samsung and LG’s solid leadership would certainly be an uphill battle. In response to Sony’s television onslaught, Samsung plans to strengthen its marketing campaigns and expand the lineup of its 3D televisions.
``We have no intention of allowing Sony to eat up more shares in the 3D LED-backlit LCD television market here. We will soon have a 40-inch 3D television in our lineup and this would certainly help,’’ said a Samsung spokesman.
The company will also present a 65-inch 3D television, which will retail at around 10 million won, during the second-half of the year.
LG is promising to make its 3D televisions cheaper. By exploiting cost-effective solutions such as edge-lit LEDs, the company has just released a 3D television that costs just 2 million won.
``Successful marketing would be critical for us, and cutting prices is also an option,’’ said LG Electronics spokesman Choi Joon-hyuck.
``We will also target high-end customers with a 72-inch 3D television set, which will be released later this year at around 10 million won.’’
Competition heating up
Samsung and LG have so far sold 30,000 and 10,000 units of its 3D televisions here, respectively and it remains to be seen whether Sony will be able to carve out a significant proportion of the market.
Samsung recently revised its global sales target for 3D televisions from 2 million to 2.6 million units, after managing to sell 600,000 of them worldwide despite being limited by the tight supply in 3D panels. LG lifted its 3D television sales target from 800,000 to 1 million units as well.
Yoon Boo-keun, president of Samsung’s television division, said the company is not too worried about the possibilities of a price competition in the local market.
``We are confident that we have secured leadership here,’’ Yoon told The Korea Times.
However, an LG Electronics executive, who didn’t want to be named, showed more wariness about Sony’s marketing drive.
``Sony’s foundation games and entertainment businesses will add crucial support to its 3D television business and allow it to win back some of the lost market share in the television market at the expense of its Korean rivals,’’ he said.