Samsung TV prices drop

August 20, 2014

The firm sought to gain bigger world market share over profit, an industry tracker says

SEOUL (Yonhap) — Samsung Electronics Co.’s average sales price for its flat-screen TVs fell 13 percent in the first half of 2014 from last year, apparently as the firm sought a bigger world market share over profit, data showed Thursday (KST).

The price of the company’s flat TV lineup averaged US$646 in the January-June period, while the combined shipment advanced 16 percent, the data compiled by Strategy Analytics showed.

The industry tracker said demands for Samsung products gained in Latin America due to the FIFA World Cup in Brazil, with the company aggressively promoting its Ultra HD models around the globe.

It said Samsung opted to sell its TVs at a relatively cheaper price in emerging markets.

The South Korean firm is aiming for bigger sales in the second half by penetrating deeper into the North American and European flat-TV markets, the researcher added.

A separate data compiled by DisplaySearch earlier showed that Samsung took up 29.6 percent of the world’s flat-TV market in the first quarter, keeping the top spot for the 33rd consecutive quarter since 2006. LG Electronics Inc. accounted for 16.9 percent, trailed by Japan’s Sony Corp. with 6.8 percent.

Samsung shipped 48.3 million units of flat TVs in 2013. Industry watchers anticipated the tech giant’s combined sales of such products to surpass the 50-million mark this year.