Sensio will launch two 3D technologies and a 3D content solution at CES this week, Richard LaBerge, the chief marketing officer, told Consumer Electronics Daily, as the company takes on obstacles to widespread adoption of 3D TV. Describing 2010 as “the year for confusion” in 3D, LaBerge said consumers were perplexed and frustrated by the setup required for 3D with set-top boxes and Blu-ray players, along with compatibility, cost and comfort issues of active-shutter glasses. Lack of programming was the other barrier to adoption, he said, noting that Sony subsidized ESPN’s 3D channel, which offered limited content, and Panasonic’s sponsored with Discovery a channel that has yet to roll out. LaBerge also cited TV makers’ exclusive bundling deals for blockbuster titles including Avatar 3D and Alice in Wonderland. “Consumers wanted Avatar,” he said, “but it’s a bit expensive to buy a 3D movie, when you have to buy a TV to get it."
Shipment growth of 31 percent for LCD TV in 2010 was “lower than expected,” resulting in increased inventory Q3, and that led to “vigorous price erosion” Q4, said DisplaySearch. LCD TV shipments will rise from 190 million in 2010 to 215 million in 2011, according to forecasts, but erosion in average selling prices will lead to the first-ever revenue decline in the LCD TV category, the firm said. Worldwide LCD TV shipments are expected to slow this year to 13 percent, it said.
The HES and PRO buying groups have taken their alliance to the next level, formally merging the two organizations to form ProSource, the AV specialty division of BrandSource. The two organizations, which established an alliance in September 2008, said last week they'll merge to boost the power and relevance of the independent retail channel but will remain separate entities. The merger gives the combined group $3.6 billion of buying clout through PRO’s 16 dealer members and 550 HES members, the group said. Total storefronts number 950. The groups plan to maintain independent dealer meetings for PRO and HES and will add combined meetings for the larger organization, according to Jim Ristow, executive vice president of HES.
In an open New Year’s letter to members of the CE industry Wednesday, Richard Glikes, executive director of Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA), appealed to vendors to launch new technologies through the struggling specialty AV retail channel in 2011 following disappointing introductions of Google TV and 3D TV through the nation’s largest electronics retailer, Best Buy.
Colorado vNet, whose assets were purchased by Russound when it ceased operations in October 2009, will shut down operations for a second time, company executives said Wednesday in a conference call with reporters. After “much discussion and evaluation,” CEO Charlie Porritt said, “we've decided to discontinue shipping the Colorado VNet product line and wind down sales operations.” Porritt said the company will reassess the product line “as it relates to the evolving custom install market and focus on R&D for the future."
Fine Sounds Spa, the Milan-based holding company for Audio Research Corp. and Sonus Faber, bought Wadia Digital, manufacturer of high-end digital audio components. Terms were not disclosed. Wadia CEO John Schaffer said both parties’ goals were met by the acquisition. In seeking a buyer, Wadia wanted to find “a strategic partner with an understanding of and appreciation for the legacy of the Wadia brand,” Schaffer said. According to Fine Sounds, the acquisition extends the company’s reach into the “digital lifestyle” category. Resources provided by the deal will allow Wadia to expand its Series 1 line of “affordable” products, which includes the $379 170 iTransport iPod dock, Schaffer said. Historically, the company has focused on “tip of the pyramid” digital audio at luxury goods price points, he said, but based on “astronomical” growth for the iTransport, the company wants to expand the category. “That’s where we've been growing the fastest,” Schaffer said, “and it’s outstripped our ability to keep up.” At CES, the company will show its Model 121, sub-$2,000 small form factor D-A converter that’s due to ship in Q2, he said. Although the company “had absolutely run into the same kind of stagnant economy you'd expect” in 2009, Schaffer said 2010 has been a bounce-back year and the company joins Fine Sounds “from a position of strength.” Schaffer will continue to manage the Wadia brand from the Michigan office and joins the Fine Sounds board. He said no job cuts were part of the deal and operations will continue in Michigan. “We're not planning any major reorganization,” he said.
3D is “not the panacea studios had hoped,” said BTIG analyst Richard Greenfield, who downgraded the 6,705-screen Regal Cinema shares to “sell” in a report on the BTIG website Monday. Regal shares closed 1.2 percent lower at $11.81 in Tuesday trading. In the 10 days ending Sunday, total movie industry box office was down more than $152 million, or 30 percent, year over year, “a staggering number,” Greenfield said, “for an industry that expected 3D technology to motivate people to get out of their houses and go to the movies.” Total attendance for Q4 is likely to end up down 12 percent, he said.
Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA) announced its eighth annual vendor awards, rewarding vendors for margin support, versatile product lines and reliability. The honors will be distributed at CES next week. Panasonic took overall vendor of the year honors for “outstanding product margins” and going “above and beyond to create a program that all could embrace.” The buying group, comprising specialty and custom dealers, tapped Lutron as custom vendor of the year citing its ability to “consistently manufacture and integrate high-quality lighting systems” and for “great training, bulletproof product and serious in-field representation.” Panasonic’s TC-P65VT25 plasma 3DTV was named product of the year, and Jim Sanduski, senior vice president of sales for Panasonic, was named man of the year for combining “industry intelligence with a soothing demeanor."
Despite comments from CEO William Lynch last month during the Q2 Barnes & Noble earnings call that sales of Nook e-readers and the digital content platform “may be greater than we originally thought in our one- to three-year models,” the company appeared unprepared Christmas Day for the onslaught of Web traffic as Nook recipients tried to redeem gift cards and order e-books. Lynch said in late November that NOOKcolor was selling through at twice initial projections. In a prepared statement upon shipping of the product in mid-November, the company said NOOKcolor had already become the best-selling product at Barnes & Noble, with pre-order volume “significantly beyond that of the company’s aggressive expectations.”
Procrastinators hoping to get good deals on pre-Christmas sales are being rewarded this week at online electronics sites. Low-end digital cameras are especially hot Christmas gift bargains this week as retailers try to reduce inventories with last-minute blowout sales. At RadioShack, stocking stuffer cameras include a Vivitar V25 2.1-megapixel camera, reduced to $14.99 from $19.99, and a Crayola 5.1-megapixel model discounted $10, to $29. Other deals include a Polaroid i1237 camera, cut 25 percent to $59, and a Kodak 14-megapixel model slashed to $79 from $149. To sweeten the pot further, RadioShack is tossing in a 7-inch digital photo frame with cameras priced $69 and up.