TV sales falling in Q3

Quarterly EMEA sales decline despite stronger year

TV sales across Europe fell 8.6 per cent to 16.4m units in quarter three, according to analyst Meko's latest DisplayCast report.

Goksen Sertler, senior TVs analyst at Meko, said the markets that shrank most were Spain, France, the UK and Italy. The fall was predictable, she said.

"Our regular inventory tracking data showed that there was a lot of inventory in the market already at the beginning of Q3. Set and panel makers are keen to sell the more expensive sets with LED backlights, but there is some consumer resistance to current pricing levels," she said.

TV shipments to Spain were down 40 per cent quarter on quarter.

"In the first quarter, sell-in to Spain was pushed up because of digital switchover. In the second quarter, World Cup promotions kept the demand strong. After two consecutive strong quarters, it was no surprise to see very weak sell-in," said Sertler.

Fewer flat panels were sold in the quarter too, down to 15.3m units.

LED-backlit TV shipments were 24 per cent of volume sales, up from 19 per cent in the second quarter.

However, EMEA TV sales were up 2.1 per cent by unit over the same quarter last year, and flat panel shipments rose 6.1 per cent over the same period.

Samsung, LG and Sony remained the top-three EMEA TV brands, followed by Philips and Panasonic.