America's VIZIO Named USA's #1 Shipper of LCD HDTVs for 2009!

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- VIZIO, America's #1 LCD HDTV Company, headquartered in Irvine, California announced today that it was the #1 shipper of LCD HDTVs in the U.S. for 2009, surpassing all foreign TV brands according to iSuppli's Q4 2009 U.S. TV unit shipment results. VIZIO, recently named one of Ad Age's Hottest Brands of 2009, led for the entire year on a cumulative unit basis, starting with a strong first quarter and closing out 2009 with a record-setting 4th quarter.  Strong holiday sales helped VIZIO, a U.S. company, ship an industry-leading 1.844 million LCD HDTVs in the U.S. in the 4th quarter to give them a total of 5.92 million units shipped in the U.S. for the year.  

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"2009 was a remarkable year on many fronts, we became the #1 shipper of LCD HDTV's in the US and as an American Company we are proud U.S. consumers are choosing VIZIO over our foreign competitors," stated Laynie Newsome, VIZIO Co-Founder and VP Sales & Marketing Communications. "In 2010 we are working hard to exceed our customer's expectations with exciting new products like VIZIO Internet Apps, High Definition Blu-ray DVD Players, wireless Internet routers and internet apps enabled entertainment systems.  We are expanding our high definition home theater sound collection, while launching 3D enabled LCD HDTVs, High Definition Personal Home Theater headphones, and portable razor thin LED LCD HDTVs."

    
    
    iSuppli U.S. TV Market Tracker
    
     2009                     2009 Unit      2009 Market      2009 Percentage
     Rank* Brand              Shipments         Share               Growth
        1  VIZIO                5,920           18.7%                92.1%
        2  Samsung              5,608           17.7%                22.6%
        3  Sony                 3,681           11.6%                -1.0%
        4  Toshiba              2,394            7.6%                81.7%
        5  LG Electronics       2,396            7.6%                 8.9%
           Total               31,622          100.0%                29.0%
    
    
    Q4'09                    Q4'09 Unit      Q4'09 Market         Q4'09 QoQ 
     Rank* Brand              Shipments          Share       Percentage Growth
        1  VIZIO                1,844             18%                  49%
        2  Samsung              1,715             17%                  30%
        3  Sony                 1,318             13%                 116%
        4  Toshiba                708              7%                  16%
        5  LG Electronics         657              7%                   3%
           Total                9,988            100%                  26%
           
    *Source – iSuppli Corporation Q1 2010 U.S. TV Market Tracker, thousands of 
    units.

"VIZIO emerged as the #1 brand in 2009 for the U.S. LCD TV market, up from #3 in 2008 with the highest growth of 92% year on year. This growth is attributed to increased brand recognition and acceptance by consumers for providing  technology advancements at affordable prices," said Riddhi Patel, Principal Analyst, Television Systems, iSuppli Corporation.

According to Quixel Research, VIZIO's strength in the 4th quarter was driven in part by two of the top five best selling TVs in the U.S. - the VO320E (32") and VA19L (19"), in addition to one of the best-selling large size (40"+) TVs in the U.S., VO420E (42").

    
    
    LCDTV Top 5 Best Sellers by Units Q4 2009**
    
    Manufacturer    Product       Size   Resolution  Technology   List Price
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Samsung       LN32B360         32      HD 720      LCDTV       $549.00
    VIZIO         VO320E           32      HD 720      LCDTV       $499.00
    Sony          KDL32L504        32      HD 720      LCDTV       $399.00
    VIZIO         VA19L            19      HD 720      LCDTV       $249.00
    Sony          KDL32L5000       32      HD 720      LCDTV       $499.00
    
    
    Top 5 Best Sellers by Units 40" and above**
    
    Manufacturer    Product       Size   Resolution  Technology   List Price
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Samsung       LN40B500         40      HD 1080     LCDTV       $649.00
    Panasonic     TC-P50X1         50      HD 720      Plasma      $999.99
    Panasonic     TC-P42X1         42      HD 720      Plasma      $749.99
    RCA           L40FHD41         40      HD 1080     LCDTV       $568.00
    VIZIO         VO420E           42      HD 1080     LCDTV       $849.00
    
    **Source – Quixel Research

"VIZIO's showing this quarter was very strong with Best Selling models at 19", 32" and 40" - covering all the key selling sweet spots," stated Tamaryn Pratt, Quixel Research.  "They did this at the same time while having a strong showing in value ranking among LED models."

DisplaySearch recently released their North America shipment results showing VIZIO's continuing growth in large size (40"+) HDTVs and advanced technologies spurred in part by the success of the 55" and 47" TruLED HDTVs introduced this fall.  Among the five largest brands by shipment, VIZIO had the largest YoY increases in 40"+ and 120+240Hz frame rate HDTVs for the 4th quarter according to DisplaySearch.

"VIZIO has been able to maintain their strong share in small and mid size HDTVs, while growing in larger screen sizes (40"+)," said Paul Gagnon, Director of North America TV Research at DisplaySearch.  "They have also seen growth in advanced technologies such as high frame rate LCD TVs, posting the highest Y/Y growth of 120+240 Hz HDTVs in North America during Q4'09."

About VIZIO

VIZIO, Inc., "Where Vision Meets Value," headquartered in Irvine, California, is America's HDTV and Consumer Electronics Company. In 2007, VIZIO skyrocketed to the top by becoming the #1 selling brand of flat panel HDTVs in North America and became the first American brand in over a decade to lead in U.S. TV sales. Since 2007 VIZIO HDTV shipments remain in the TOP ranks in the U.S. and were again #1 in Q1, 2009 with over 20% market share.  VIZIO is committed to bringing feature-rich consumer electronics to market at a value through practical innovation. VIZIO offers a broad range of award winning consumer electronics. VIZIO's products are found at Costco Wholesale, Sam's Club, Sears, Walmart, Target, BJ's Wholesale, and other retailers nationwide along with authorized online partners. VIZIO has won numerous awards including a #1 ranking in the Inc. 500 for Top Companies in Computers and Electronics, Fast Company's 6th Most Innovative CE Company of 2009, and made the lists of Ad Age's Hottest Brands, Good Housekeeping's Best Big-Screens, CNET's Top 10 Holiday Gifts and PC World's Best Buy among others.

For more information, please call 888-VIZIOCE or visit on the web at www.VIZIO.com.

The V, VIZIO, TruLED, Extreme VIZIO Technology XVT, VIZIO Internet Apps, 480Hz SPS, 240Hz SPS, Thin Line, Smooth Motion, Razor LED, Smart Dimming, Where Vision Meets Value names, phrase and symbols are trademarks or registered trademarks of VIZIO, Inc. All other trademarks may be the property of their respective holders.

SOURCE VIZIO, Inc.