Sad news this past week on the Plasma TV front.
Marketnews: Fujitsu to Exit Plasma Business
It's a pity, because Fujitsu was one of the original innovators in plasma display technology, and their offerings were spectacularly good looking. As it happens, I am (or now, was) well plugged in to Fujitsu, and an insider filled me in on the details.
Two key factors led to Fujitsu's decision to roll up the carpet. One, the display division was a standalone business, and their only offering was plasma, which meant that they could not buy market share through aggressive pricing, because losing money was not an option. This left their skus priced much higher than comparable high end sets. Certainly, the Fujitsus have an amazing picture, but when you are 35-40% higher at retail than a Pioneer Elite unit (which are fantastic TV's in their own right), it becomes a tough, tough sell. There's plenty of space in the upper tier display market, as proved by Pioneer, and Runco/Vidikron, but Fujitsu's inflexibility when it came to pricing put them at a serious disadvantage. Second, as a result, Fujitsu never really gained as much traction in the high end boutique dealers that others like Pioneer have achieved. One decidedly upper end audio store here in Edmonton (by which I mean they sell single audio components that retail in the high five figures) has markedly selected Panasonic as their brand.
Marketnews: Fujitsu to Exit Plasma Business
IT and communications company Fujitsu will cease making plasma televisions due to increased competition in the flat-panel TV segment, as well as continual price erosion in the category.
“During the past several years, the pricing and profitability of this segment has compressed beyond the point which our company could realize a satisfactory return on investment,” said the company in a prepared notice. “We expect that this market situation will continue in the future.”
Produced by Fujitsu’s Visual Display Division, the company’s plasma TVs were tailored toward the higher-end market, including custom A/V installations and advanced A/V systems around the world.
Fujitsu will end its participation in the plasma TV category as of March 2008, after which it will continue on its core business of heating and ventilation equipment. The company will continue its visual display business within the domestic market in Japan, and says that it will honour after sales service of its products even after the business has closed.
It's a pity, because Fujitsu was one of the original innovators in plasma display technology, and their offerings were spectacularly good looking. As it happens, I am (or now, was) well plugged in to Fujitsu, and an insider filled me in on the details.
Two key factors led to Fujitsu's decision to roll up the carpet. One, the display division was a standalone business, and their only offering was plasma, which meant that they could not buy market share through aggressive pricing, because losing money was not an option. This left their skus priced much higher than comparable high end sets. Certainly, the Fujitsus have an amazing picture, but when you are 35-40% higher at retail than a Pioneer Elite unit (which are fantastic TV's in their own right), it becomes a tough, tough sell. There's plenty of space in the upper tier display market, as proved by Pioneer, and Runco/Vidikron, but Fujitsu's inflexibility when it came to pricing put them at a serious disadvantage. Second, as a result, Fujitsu never really gained as much traction in the high end boutique dealers that others like Pioneer have achieved. One decidedly upper end audio store here in Edmonton (by which I mean they sell single audio components that retail in the high five figures) has markedly selected Panasonic as their brand.
I seriously considered getting a 63-inch Fujitsu plasma this past Fall, now I'm kind of glad that I didn't. Still, I'm sorry to see them go.
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