Quote:
Originally Posted by
Suzook 
the losses if anything will make them firm up prices, not drop them. Sharp like Sony and Samsung is trying to enforce MAP and other associated price limits and for once they have learned that
if you give it away, a loss is what will result. The mark up in the panel is where your negotiating power remains.
I don't agree - most of these losses likely have nothing to do with underpricing inventory - especially the Elite lines but instead currency exchange issues that have adversely impacted many Japanese Companies and let's not forget they walk a thin line of price fixing at the same time as they have repeatedly paid heavy penalties for price fixing numerous times during the past ten years. I say that if Sharp keeps this as a Boutique panel priced the way it is that will be the biggest mistake they have ever made.
Lets not forget the history of Sharp - their foundation has NEVER been high end and in fact before they committed everything to LCD over ten years ago they were a regular CRT budget line filling the budget TV shelf space at stores like K-Mart. Also, when they debuted all their large LCD's the past 7 years they eventually have cut them in HALF. Stay with a boutique panel gets one reputation but it doesn't really garner a profit line as the volume is minuscule. ELITE Type panels have not worked for any TV builder to-date.
Panasonic ONYX = DEAD
Pioneer ELITE = DEAD
Fujitsu - at one time the Mercedes of Plasma = DEAD
Sony XBR = DEAD or evolving to Chinese rebadging
They and others have fallin to the wayside or the electronics gutter - They all stopped making a profit as boutique lines. Let the technology do it's trickle down and the consumer benefits and hopefully they can survive otherwise Samsung and the Chinese will rule the future. Ouch!
Bottom Line is that BUSINESS AS USUAL isn't going to garner profits and raising prices or keeping them HIGH and crossing one's fingers won't work - there's no business logic to that at all. Unless one desires to face bankruptcy staying the course is the path of bankruptcy for certain. Unless you've got your hand out for a Gov't Bailout no business has ever survived that logic to do business another day. I look for some major restructuring in the months ahead and I bet that the Elite Tech will trickle down along with pricing in the future where Volume Sales rules not Boutique sales with petty profits that are meaningless.
Edited by westa6969 - 8/10/12 at 5:05pm
