PRODUCT TRENDS EXCITING
PRODUCT TRENDS EXCITING HD SPORT TV PARTNERSHIP AND DIRECT INTERNET CONNECTIVITY PANASONIC PRESS CONFERENCE WOWS JOURNALISTS AND ANALYSTS By Gary Smith Download Video at w w w.ifa-international.org Opening yesterday’s press conference, Yorihisa Shiokawa, Managing Director, Panasonic Europe, laid-out the underlying philosophy of Panasonic (and mother company Matsushita). “This year is our 90th anniversary. That’s 90 years of dedication to making products that people really want. Panasonic produced its first colour TV in 1960 and now the company has a 10.1% share of the European market offering 15,000 products and with 300,000 employees worldwide. Our target is to be number one in our core product categories, which are the Viera flat screen TV's and Lumix cameras. We intend to do that by continuing to innovate and becoming even more market and consumer focused,” Shiokawa said. Market Drivers Concerning growth in the European flat screen TV market, Masaaki Fujita, Executive Officer of Matsushita & Senior Vice President, Panasonic AVC Networks Company, reported that the 32” to 42” screen sizes are expected to be the main drivers of growth until 2010: “The 32” up to 42” screens will make-up around 62% of the market and overall demand for these products grew by 153% in Europe in Q1 of t2008 which is higher than global growth of Jacques Raynaud, Vice-President, Eurosport Group Masaaki Fujita, executive officer of Matsushita & Senior Vice President, Panasonic AVC Networks Company 132% for the same period,” he said. “We intend to respond to the market realities by expanding the range of available models in the 32” to 42” range and by opening two new factories, Amagasaki No.5 for plasma screens comes on stream in 2009 and the IPS Alpha Himeji Factory for LCD units will be operational in 2010. As we grow our manufacturing operations, we can further exploit the consequent economies of scale to reduce costs.” Panasonic’s plasma screens will also feature the cuttingedge Neo PDP technology which doubles the luminous efficiency of the screen thanks to new material and new circuit and drive units. The screens are much thinner and offer 5120 steps of colour gradation and improved motion quality. “The new technology also offers significant energy saving with up to 55% reduction in consumption thanks to the ambient light sensor which is available on the current Viera range and will also be fitted to units with the Neo PDP technology,” Fabien Roth, Senior Marketing Manager - TV Group - Panasonic Marketing Europe, said. “Neo PDP also allows us to make super thin screens which are 24.7 mm deep and weigh only 29 kilos as opposed to current models which are 59 kilos. This means that they are much more flexible in terms of mounting possibilities. The Neo PDP units will be available in 2009.” Streaming HD Sport on Your TV! Another breakthrough announced at the conference is the new Viera Cast technology, which enables Internet connectivity on the new models. With Viera Cast, a single user interface allows viewers to access a number of VOD services including YouTube and Bloomberg stock market reports, but the most significant aspect of the technology is that Panasonic has partnered with Eurosport HD to offer 500 videos of the latest sport action including exclusive content, updated daily, available in five languages and all for free via broadband: “We are delighted to be partnering with Panasonic because we share common values and a pioneering spirit,” Jacques Raynaud, Vice-President, Eurosport Group said. “Technology is increasingly allowing us to deliver better quality sport coverage and this new partnership between Eurosport HD and Panasonic is another important step towards delivering the greatest show possible.” Hall 5.2 / Stand 101 18 www.ifa-international.org IFA International • Friday, 29 th August 2008
PRODUCT TRENDS SILVER SHELL, GREEN HEART AND ROSY FUTURE FOR SHARP'S NEW LCD TVS SHARP CEO ANNOUNCES “THE FUTURE OF TV” AT IFA PRESS CONFERENCE By Jo Stephens Sharp flicked the switch on "next-generation visual culture" at Thursday's press conference to launch its new series of LCD TVs. Living up to its motto, "Making products that others want to imitate", Sharp's sleek AQUOS LC-XS1 series proves that you can never be too thin when it comes to TV design: the new units are only one inch wide at their narrowest point and never more than two inches. Combined with their generous screen size, high contrast ratio, cut-glass digital sound, optimal colour rendition – 50% more colours can be displayed – and low energy consumption, it is easy to see why Sharp claims the AQUOS will set new standards in flat-screen TV. Introducing the international press to "clearer images than you will have ever seen before", Toshiyuki Tajima, CEO of Sharp Electronics Europe, said: "We are introducing a new era of LCD televisions. We were the first company in the world to concentrate exclusively on LCD TV and our unique technologies have brought LCD TV into the heart of the digital lifestyle." In response to the consumer's increasingly green focus, Sharp has also incorporated energy-saving technology into the new AQUOS XS1 series. The sets feature a new system designed to lower power consumption during use by adjusting screen brightness in response to the light levels in the area of installation. Noting that the demand for LCD TVs are booming, Tajima reported that the global market is expected to breach the 100 million-unit mark by year end. LCD TV sets now represent roughly half of today's worldwide television market, he added. Moreover, in Europe alone, some 35 million units have been sold this year. Taking over the podium, Frank Bolten, President of Sharp Electronics Germany/Austria, told the packed auditorium that Germany – one of the biggest consumer-electronic markets in Europe – represents a huge opportunity for LCD TV. Currently, three out of every five new televisions bought in Germany are LCD TVs, he said, adding that, for each plasma television sold in his country, no less than eight LCD TVs are now being purchased. "And this is just the tip of the iceberg," he observed. "Only two thirds of German households currently have LCD TV, so there is big potential for growth." This situation is replicated across Western Europe. According to consumer research company GfK, almost 80% of households do not yet own an LCD TV. As Mr Tajima pointed out: "At least 100 million European households are waiting to replace their old tube television with an LCD TV." With demand set to boom – and in a world increasingly driven by price – Sharp has opted to focus on the premium end of the market. And the figures, according to Mr Bolton, indicate that consumers appreciate this unambiguous brand positioning. "Indeed, we have been able to increase our average price per unit, even while the market price has decreased," he said. "On the one hand, there are priceoptimised families, where LCD TVs are sold in large quantities solely on the basis of low price," Mr Bolton continued. "Here, however, consumers have to accept sacrifices in certain aspects. On the other hand, there are equipment-optimised product families that focus on the highquality end of the market and provide LCD TVs with state-of-theart technologies, first-class workmanship and customer-oriented pre- and post-sales service. Sharp has positioned itself clearly in the high-quality equipment-optimised segment of the LCD TV market. We offer devices that meet demanding standards and provide clear added value." Hall 3.2 / Stand 101 IFA International • Friday, 29 th August 2008 www.ifa-international.org 19
