Vizio , other flat panel builders fighting to reach zero

There's a piece in CNet about the bloodbath in flat panel television pricing. Retailers are blaming manufacturers, and manufacturers are blaming retailers. It's worth reading the article for this one quote:

The rapid drop in prices alarmed many in the high-end TV business. Last fall, the price war among brands was like a "gunfight at the O.K. Corral," said Dave Workman of the marketing and merchandising firm PRO Group.
"What happened last fall was someone sent the sheriff on vacation, passed out pistols to everyone and said, 'Go have a blast,'" he said. "Retailers are often undisciplined when left to their own devices," he added, and major manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, LG and Sharp were not strict enough with their minimum price requirements as they joined in on the discount binge.

Competitive pressures make otherwise sensible businesspeople do strange things sometimes. In a land overflowing with retailers, many don't have the discipline to differentiate themselves as a value-added dealer, and have to resort to selling on price. If price is all you have to talk about, that's all the customer is going to hear, and you probably would have been better off if the price shopper hadn't bought from you in the end.

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