Color TV prices rise, about 30% of sales decline against the trend

Summary: Since the end of last year, the rise in raw materials has put pressure on the home appliance market to increase prices. Among them, with the rise of raw materials such as panels, copper foil, glass fiber cloth, and epoxy resin, the average sales price of color cables in my country has increased by nearly 30% year-on-year. It is worth noting that in the case of multiple categories of home appliances achieving the same increase in volume and price, the sales of color TVs have shown a downward trend against the trend.

The reporter learned that in order to promote sales, major manufacturers have deployed "large size" and new technology tracks. However, some insiders pointed out that many new technologies are still facing the problems of immature technology and high cost.

Upstream raw materials rise, color TV prices may rise until the end of the year

"The price of color TVs has risen recently." On April 25, the reporter learned when visiting an electronics store in Haizhu District that since the beginning of this year, as the prices of raw materials have risen, the prices of various home appliances have risen. exception. Aoweiyun data shows that as of mid-April, the average sales price of color cables in my country this year has increased by 1053 yuan year-on-year, an increase of nearly 30%, and the average online sales price has increased even close to 39%. Industry insiders believe that the rise in the average price of color TVs is inseparable from the reality that the supply of upstream materials and parts such as panels exceeds demand.

From the perspective of the panel market, from May 2020 to March this year, LCD panels in the upstream of color TVs have been rising for 11 consecutive months, becoming the longest and largest price increase cycle in history. According to the reporter's understanding, market analysis generally believes that this trend will not be significantly adjusted in the short term.

In addition to TV panels, the rising prices of raw materials such as copper foil, fiberglass cloth, and epoxy resin have driven up the cost of PCBA modules. In addition, unexpected events such as the power outage of UMC's Hsinchu plant, the Fukushima earthquake in Japan, and the snowstorm and power outages in Texas have frequently aggravated the shortage of chip supply, and the supply of memory and flash memory has also been urgent. "The general rise of these materials in the industry chain has indeed brought a lot of cost pressure on the retail side." Industry insider Zhang Liangjun said.

In the face of rising costs, major color TV brands have made different strategic adjustments. The reporter learned that many TV manufacturers recently announced price increases. On April 8, Xiaomi, which has ranked first in color TV shipments in the Chinese market for eight consecutive quarters, issued price adjustment instructions. The reporter learned that only two months after the first launch, the current price of the Redmi MAX 86-inch has risen to 9,999 yuan, an increase of 2,000 yuan from the 7,999 yuan offer price. It is understood that TCL also announced an increase in TV product prices in March and said the overall increase was between 5% and 8%. In addition, foreign brands such as Sony and Samsung have also joined the price increase army. In March of this year, Skyworth TV launched the 88-inch high-end OLED TV W92 with a starting price of 19,999 yuan. On April 25, the reporter browsed the brand's official self-operated store on an e-commerce platform and found that the price of the product had been raised to 218,888 yuan. Industry experts pointed out that color TV price increases will continue until at least the end of 2021.

It is worth noting that the color TV market is currently facing the embarrassing situation of price increases and volume. Data show that in the first quarter of 2021, my country’s color TV sales were 9.9 million units, down 0.6% from the same period last year, and up to 20.5% from the first quarter of 2019. Color TVs became the only category of major appliances whose sales fell year-on-year.

Zhang Liangjun analyzed the following main influencing factors: the impact of the epidemic on the industry continued; mobile phones, tablet computers and other products entered consumers' lives, and the demand for color TVs declined.

The brand seeks development by adjusting the layout of large size, new technology, etc.

In order to stimulate sales, the reporter noted that at present, major color TV manufacturers are adjusting their business strategies, shifting from a "price war" to a "structural war", and responding in terms of product structure and technical structure.
First of all, the size of the color TV is developing in the direction of large size. Data show that in the first quarter of 2021, the sales of small and medium-sized color TVs under 55 inches fell by 8.6% year-on-year compared to 2020, and the decline was the largest among color TV products of all sizes, while the sales of color TVs above 65 inches increased by 11.1% year-on-year.
Faced with this situation, various manufacturers are actively deploying "large-size" tracks. The market predicts that the demand for large-size color TVs will continue to grow in the next five years, and the product structure will also be upgraded to the "75+" large-size direction.
In addition, industry insiders told reporters that the current price increase of LCD (liquid crystal) panel products has brought more room for OLED, laser, QLED, 8K and other technical products whose prices are falling against the trend. On April 14, BOE disclosed the Q&A list of the annual performance online briefing. Regarding the planning of the new production line, BOE stated that there is currently no new plan for LCD panels. On the previous day, TCL Technology stated that “the growth rate of the supply side of the overall industry has slowed sharply, and the supply and demand structure has remained stable”, and there have been very strict restrictions on new LCD investment.
The reporter learned that the current color TV panels on the market are mainly divided into LCD panels and OLED panels. Ovi Ruiwo predicts that OLED TV shipments in 2021 will usher in a substantial growth, reaching 6 million units, and the penetration rate will also increase to 2.6%, and in the Chinese market, it may reach about 300,000 units.
However, in the process of market research, industry insider Teng Gang told reporters that the current LCD technology is mature, low cost and more suitable for the development trend of large screens. With the current price level of OLED panels, it is difficult to open the market in the short term. "For now, LCD screen products are more cost-effective." Teng Gang said. (Guangzhou Daily)