Epson Expands North American Projector Market Leadership to 39 Percent with Largest Industry Share Growth

LONG BEACH, Calif., March 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Underscoring its leadership in the projector market, Epson America, Inc. today announced it continues to hold the number one position in North America for 2013. According to PMA Research, the worldwide market information experts on front projectors, Epson continued momentum in the market by growing its overall North America market share to 39 percent in units in 2013, representing a five-point increase year-over-year and the largest share growth of any manufacturer¹. With positive revenue growth four years in a row, Epson had the largest total revenue increase in the North American projector market in 2013 with a 24 percent share, which represents a nearly six-point increase year-over-year.

"2013 was a record breaking year for Epson^® projectors in North America. Extending our number one position and growing our market share is a testament to the outstanding performance and benefits of Epson 3LCD technology," said Richard Miller, director, Projector Product Management, Epson America. "This growth is also a great win for Epson channel partners who provide home theater, business, education, and house-of-worship customers the very best Epson projection solutions and deliver the ideal combination of brightness, performance and flexibility."

Epson's 3LCD line-up delivers ultra-bright, high-quality performance coupled with innovative features and technology advancements, such as leading color brightness performance with up to three times brighter colors², innovative collaboration tools on its BrightLink^® interactive projectors, MHL-enabled home cinema projectors for instant access to HD content³, increased energy efficiency across solutions, and easy wireless presenting and viewing with its free Epson iProjection^™ app. Beyond performance, Epson strives to offer a full network of service and support to give dealers, installers, partners, and customers an outstanding overall experience.  

Epson's projector technology leadership spans multiple market segments¹:

• Resolution Categories: Held the number one spot in major resolution categories, including SVGA, XGA, 720p⁴, WXGA, and consumer 1080p

• Home Theater: Retained its leadership position within the home entertainment market with 52 percent unit market share⁵ and the lead spot in the 1080p category

• Business: Maintained its pole position within the business market, increasing its unit share five points to 37 percent, the largest share growth of any manufacturer

• Interactive Projectors: Drove market leadership for the fourth straight year in the rapidly growing interactive projector market with its BrightLink interactive projectors for education and business, gaining four unit share points year-over-year

• Installation: Continued its leading position within high-end projectors (4,000+ lumens) with its Epson PowerLite^® Pro G- and Pro Z-series projectors, increasing unit share by nearly three points year-over-year

In addition, according to recent sell-through unit data, Epson retained the top spot in each of the four channels of Pro AV⁶, Distribution⁶, Commercial Reseller⁷, and Retail⁷ in 2013 in North America.

In addition to its projector tracking services, PMA also conducts end-user and dealer surveys. "Epson's market share performance is also reflected in PMA's surveys," said Linda Norton, vice president, PMA Research. "Based upon dealers rating each brand in various aspects of marketing support, products, and after-sale support, Epson increased their composite score by nearly 10 percent in PMA's most recent dealer survey."

About Epson 
Epson is a global innovation leader whose product lineup ranges from inkjet printers and printing systems, 3LCD projectors and industrial robots to sensors and other microdevices. Dedicated to exceeding the vision of its customers worldwide, Epson delivers customer value based on compact, energy-saving, and high-precision technologies in markets spanning enterprise and the home to commerce and industry.

Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, the Epson Group comprises more than 73,000 employees in 94 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and the communities in which it operates. Epson America, Inc. based in Long Beach, Calif. is Epson's regional headquarters for the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. To learn more about Epson, please visit: www.Epson.com.

You may also connect with Epson America on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/EpsonAmerica), Twitter (http://twitter.com/EpsonAmerica) and YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/EpsonTV).

¹ Source: PMA Research 2013Q4 Worldwide Census, excluding Pico and Personal projectors.
² Compared to leading 1-chip DLP business, education and home entertainment projectors. For home entertainment, Epson 720p projectors are 3x Brighter; Epson 1080p projectors are consistently 2x and up to 3x Brighter. Based on NPD data, July 2011 through June 2012. Color brightness (color light output) measured in accordance with IDMS 15.4. Color brightness will vary depending on usage conditions.
³ Select Epson Home Cinema models include one Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) HDMI port for MHL-supported devices
⁴ 720p resolution includes consumer WXGA chipset.
⁵ Number one in high-end home entertainment projectors with street price of $2,000 or more and number one in entry-level home entertainment projectors with street price under $2,000 for consumer end market
⁶ PMA Research Pro AV and Distributor Projector Tracking Services – December 2013.
⁷ The NPD Group Retail Tracking Service, U.S. and Canada; and Commercial Reseller Tracking Service, U.S. – January 2014  

Note: EPSON and PowerLite are registered trademarks, EPSON Exceed Your Vision is a registered logomark and Epson iProjection is a trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation. BrightLink is a registered trademark of Epson America, Inc. All other product and brand names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Epson disclaims any and all rights in these marks.

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SOURCE Epson