Brand loyalty is still alive and well and living in Sony Land. Judging by recent sales data in a few HD and ED categories from the holiday season in the final quarter of 2005, Sony continued to rebound in DTV sales after a disastrous long-term strategy that focused primary on bulky CRT units.
For Q4 of 2005, Sony accounted for more than half of all micro-display rear projection TV units (MD RPTV) sold, according to DisplaySearch -- earning an industry share of 54 percent globally. The research firm said Sony held at least a 53 percent share in each world region, and achieved growth of 60 percent on a quarter-to-quarter basis in each region. The Japanese company also seems to have increased its share at the expense of all major competitors except JVC and Hitachi.
Sony led in most categories of MD RPTV -- including 40 to 44 inch and 50 to 54 inch at 720p and 1080p; 55 to 59 inch at 720p; 60-inch plus at 720p; and 60-inch plus at 1080p. Toshiba ruled in the 45 to 49 inch at 720p group and JVC held the 55 to 59 inch in the newer 1080p category.
In the fourth quarter, DisplaySearch said the micro-display preference of RPTV accounted for 64 percent of the total rear-projection market on a unit basis, up from 5 percent, and accounted for more than 80 percent of the RP market on a revenue basis. For 2005, overall MD RPTV shipments rose by more than half over 2004 to about 2.5 million units.
