August 4K TV panel shipment topped 1M unit benchmark

The promotional restocking demand for Oct 1st holidays in China emerged and some brands prepared for the 2H’13 peak season in Europe and the U.S., supporting the TV panel shipment, and the August LCD TV panel shipment grew 5.8% to 19.31 million units. The monitor panel shipment climbed 5.3% MoM to 14.10 million units as the downstream SI makers saw rising shipment demands. The 10.1”-and-above NB panel shipment reached 16.56 million units, growing 13.4% MoM, as the shipment was supported by brand’ demand for new models carrying Haswell chips and the basis period in July was low. The tablet panel shipment reached 20.12 million units, rising 19% MoM, as the demands for Apple, Google’s Nexus 7, and Samsung’s tablets remained strong, and white-box makers launched new higher-resolution models. In the 2013 Germany IFA that has just ended, besides the curved OLED TV that attracts the market’s eye, the 4K TVs are hot products intensively displayed by all brands, and medias’ massive coverage and reports become the best publicity for the upcoming 4K TV campaign war during the Oct. 1st holidays in China. In H1’13, Japanese brands such as Sony and Toshiba led to showcase the 4K TVs of 55”, 65”, and 84”, while Korean and Chinese brands revealed the 4K TVs of 55”and above. The 39” 4K TV priced at only RMB 3,333 by KONKA has sparked talks in the industry, and other five major Chinese brands will also sell 4K TVs of 39”, 42”, and 50”, suggesting Chinese brands are touting a 4K TV lineup of large, medium, and small sizes to fully boost the Oct. 1st sales. WitsView’s research manager Jeffy Chen indicates that as Chinese brands held a strongly growing demand for 4K TVs, the 4K TV panel shipment jumped to 0.38 million units in one single month, rising 47% from the previous month. As a result, through the end of August, the 4K2K TV panel shipment accumulated to 1.22 million units, officially surpassing the benchmark of one million units. Among the panel makers, Innolux had an aggressive strategic deployment on 4K TV panel products, enjoying a 55% market share, and when combined with AUO, Taiwanese panel makers have successfully gained nearly 80% of the market. The Oct 1st promotional period will be a crucial moment to see how Chinese consumers accept the 4K TVs. Looking ahead to 2014, the three Gen 8.5 fabs of BOE, Samsung, and LGD will be operational in Hefei, Suzhou, and Guangzhou, and how to secure a place in the world’s largest LCD TV market will be the key to efficiently digest the new capacity. If the 4K TV segment is successfully expanded in China, in 2014, Korean and Chinese panel makers will inevitably attack the under-55”4K TV panel market, including 48”/49” and 40”/42”. The war for the entire series of 4K panels will be formally declared in 2014.