Samsung sees sales of LCD TV growing 5-fold this year

Samsung Electronics Philippines Corp. expects sales of its LCD (liquid crystal display) televisions to grow five-fold this year despite heightened competition in the market.

Jerry Lacson,  general manager for Samsung’s marketing team, said the group expects to sell a total of 40,000 LCD TV units this year compared with a meager 8,000 units in 2006.

For 2008, Samsung which holds a 38 percent share of the LCD TV market,  is eyeing to sell 80,000 units or double the 2007 sales forecast of 40,000 units.

In line with efforts to meet the ever-changing needs of customers, Samsung has launched new LCD TV models — the Samsung F8 which comes in 46” and 52” screens priced at P199,900 and P369,900, respectively.

“The F8 is the very epitome of Samsung’s technological leadership in high definition (HD) TVs and we hope its launch will help introduce consumers to the wonders of full HD. Samsung will continue to dedicate ourselves to enhancing consumers’ lifestyles with our leading edge technology, content and design innovation,“ said Dong Ha Jang, Samsung Phils. vice-president for consumer electronics.

Lacson said sales of F8 are expected to account for 10 to 15 percent of total TV sales next year.

Aside from the LCD TVs, Samsung also launched its state-of-the-art and feature-packed  MP 3 players in  a slimmer and more compact form.  The new players boast larger screens with improved resolution.

The new MP3 players also feature Bluetooth technology and user-friendly touch-screen. Bluetooth simplifies file transfers and even connects to mobile phones.

Samsung is eyeing  a 30 to 40 percent growth in sales revenues this year on the back of higher demand for  its mobile phones, LCD televisions and computer monitors.

Sales of mobile phones previously accounted for 60 percent of Samsung’s total revenue, followed by consumer electronics at 25 percent. Samsung operates two export-oriented factories in the Calamba Premiere Industrial Park in Laguna: Samsung Electronics Phils. Manufacturing Corp., which makes electronics components and semiconductors, including optical disk drives such as CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs; and Samsung Electro-Mechanics Philippines Corp., which manufactures multi-layer capacitor thick film chip resistors.

Korea’s Samsung is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital technologies with 2006 sales of $63.4 billion and net income of $8.5 billion. It has a manpower of 138,000 in 124 offices in 56 countries.