Why is Victor considering withdrawing from the domestic TV business?

Some sources said that Victor of Japan would effectively withdraw its unprofitable domestic TV business sometime this summer in order to increase its overall earnings. Victor received this news and objected by saying, “We are considering the issue but it is still undecided. We will follow up with this matter when we announce our financial statements.”

According to our “BCN Ranking” this March, Victor was not part of the top four companies competing with two digit sales shares in the flat-styled TV market. The top- selling maker is SHARP with 41.2% share; SONY follows with 21.4% share. On the other hand, the share of Victor is only 2%. Through the years, they have been unable to increase their shares. Furthermore, they have been competing with byd:sign for market share this year. This March, byd:sign outperformed Victor and they took a back seat to byd:sign.

Decline of TV prices was also an important factor. Last April, the average price of flat-styled TVs excluding tax was ¥133,600 and the average price of Victor’s TVs was ¥126,000. The difference between them was less than ¥10,000. However, their difference has increased this year. In March, the market average price was ¥112,000 but the price for Victor was ¥92,000. The difference was more than ¥20,000. It seems that the decline of their shares and the price of TVs forced them to consider the withdrawal from the domestic TV business. (Original Text by Ichiro Michikoshi)