iSuppli argues that Vizio, only eight years old, is now the best-selling LCD brand in the United States. Its shipments grew from just over 3 million in 2008 to 5.9 million in 2009, a 92 percent increase. The company’s LCD market share for last year was 18.7 percent, up from 12.6 percent in 2008.
However, Vizio is not the best-selling television brand in the nation. That distinction still goes to Samsung, which sells both LCD and plasma sets. While Samsung’s U.S. shipments grew to 6.8 million sets, from 5.4 million, its market share remained essentially flat, at around 18.5 percent. Vizio came in as the second-largest seller of TVs, with Sony placing third, with a 10.3 percent share.
Toshiba, a big seller in the days of CRT displays, made a roaring comeback last year, with an 81 percent growth in unit sales, moving its share of the market to 6.7 percent, from 4.5 percent (its share of the LCD business jumped to 7.6 percent, from 5.4 percent).
When one adds both plasma and LCD sales, the most popular U.S. brands in descending order for 2009 were Samsung, Vizio, Sony, LG, Toshiba and Panasonic. But that’s not reflected in the world at large. The best-selling televisions in the world are made by Samsung, LG, Sony, Panasonic and Sharp, in that order.
