Vizio Leads North American LCD-TV Market In Q1

The so-called "bargain brand" of LCD-TVs, Vizio beat out Samsung, formerly in the No.1 slot, taking 21.6 percent of the market, vs. Samsung's 19.9 percent stake. The other leading manufacturers, according to iSuppli, were, respectively: Sony, with a 16.6 percent share; LG Electronics, with 10.7 percent; and Sharp with 9.4 percent share.

The Irvine, Calif.-based company's sets have been especially appealing to cost-conscious shoppers at mass retail outlets, such as Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, Costco, Target and BJ's Wholesale.

"Since the onset of the economic downturn, Vizio's share has risen dramatically," said Riddhi Patel, principal analyst, television systems, for iSuppli, in a statement. "With budgets becoming increasingly tight, consumers are finding the company's inexpensive sets more alluring."

For example, iSuppli said that in the first quarter, Vizio's lowest average selling price (ASP) for a 42-inch Cold-Cathode Fluorescent (CCFL) backlit, 60Hz refresh-rate, full High-Definition (HD) LCD-TV was $850. In comparison, Samsung and Sony 40-inch LCD-TVs with the same configurations carried ASPs of $1,000 and $1,090, respectively.

Vizio's market win is also good for AmTRAN, the Taiwan-based OEM that builds the company's LCD TVs. In April, AmTRAN said it plans to ship 5 million TVs globally this year, 25 percent more than its previous estimate, according to Reuters, and 60 percent higher than its shipments in 2008. The company has manufacturing plants in Taiwan and China.

"Demand in the U.S. isn't doing too badly, and we will also start boosting sales in China from the second half," AmTRAN Technology President Frank Wu told Reuters.