Epson Extends North America Projector Market Leadership to 34 Percent Market Share

LONG BEACH, Calif., April 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/-- Epson America, Inc. continues to demonstrate its leadership in the projector market and today announced it continues to hold the number one position in North America for 2012. According to PMA Research, the worldwide market information experts on front projectors, Epson continued its momentum in the projector market by growing its overall North America market share to 34 percent in 2012, which represents a three-point increase year-over-year - the largest share growth of any manufacturer¹.

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"For more than 20 years, Epson has been committed to providing customers with the very best imaging solutions – achieving and extending our number one position in the North America projector market is a testament to that dedication," said Richard Miller, director, Projector Product Management, Epson America. "Our wide range of projection solutions - from business and home theater to interactive and large-venue installation projectors - underscores the company's dedication to offering innovative projection solutions for nearly any audience."

Epson's diverse line-up of 3LCD projectors delivers ultra-bright, high quality performance coupled with innovative features for a range of market segments. What sets Epson and its 3LCD projection solutions apart, however, is its commitment to integrating technology advancements and performance benefits such as leading color brightness performance with up to three times brighter colors², increased energy efficiency³ and unique features such as wireless presenting and viewing.

Epson's projector technology leadership spans multiple market segments:

• Resolution Categories: Epson held the number one spot in major resolution categories, including SVGA, XGA, 720p⁴, WXGA, and 1080p for sales from first-time projector buyers as well as larger institutions purchasing multiple high-end units for various installation scenarios.
• Home Theater: Epson retained its dominant position within the home entertainment market, with 49 percent market share⁵ and the lead spot  in the 1080p category.
• Interactive Projectors: The company also drove market leadership on the interactive projector front with schools across North America integrating the innovative and award-winning BrightLink series that offers bright, vivid images and accurate, responsive interactive pen technology.
• Installation: Within the high-end projectors category (4,000+ lumens), Epson took the leading position, offering uncompromising image quality and professional-grade reliability inherent in its Epson PowerLite^® Pro G- and Pro Z-series projectors.  

In addition, according to recent sell-through data, Epson retained the top spot in each of the four channels of Pro AV⁶, Distribution⁷, DMR⁷, and Retail⁷ in 2012 in North America.

Epson is constantly striving to develop top-of-the-line products coupled with industry-leading service and support, to give dealers, installers, partners, and their customers an outstanding overall experience. "PMA's annual survey helps manufacturers learn where they stand against their competitors and how to improve certain aspects in order to better serve their key dealers," said Linda Norton, vice president, PMA Research. "Epson's performance in the latest survey underscores the company's steadfast commitment to delivering innovative technologies and service offerings to its partners and customers."

More About PMA Research

PMA Research specializes in worldwide front projector market information, including New Era (sub-1,000 lumens), Mainstream (1,000 to 3,999 lumens), and High-End (4,000+ lumens) categories. Their Industry Service family of publications provides detailed worldwide quarterly updates (sell-in data and forecasts) on front projector markets, event-driven alerts and blogs on new products and other key industry developments, and biennial Web surveys of North American dealers and end users (including organizations and individual consumers). Their Tracking Service family of monthly reports offers timely sell-through data and analysis on unit sales, true volume-weighted street prices, and inventories of front projectors sold by leading North American retailers, dealers, and distributors.

About  Epson

Epson is a global imaging and innovation leader whose product lineup ranges from inkjet printers and 3LCD projectors 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 81,000 employees in 97 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_2012Q4 AllPJWW Forecast, excluding New Era projectors
² Compared to leading 1-chip DLP 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 Data source: ProjectorCentral.com Jan. 2012. Average of 1,122 shipping models for which the manufacturers provided lumens and total power data, all resolutions and brightness levels. Energy efficiency was measured as wattage per lumen. It was measured for both 3LCD and 1-chip projectors in each of five brightness segments. 3LCD projectors averaged less required electricity per lumen in each of the five segments.
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
⁶ PMA's ProAV Projector Tracking Service
⁷ The NPD Group/Distributor Track and Retail Tracking Service, U.S. and Canada; distribution excludes overlay into retail, ecommerce, and distribution channels in North America and DMR channel in the U.S.

Note: EPSON and PowerLite are registered trademarks and EPSON Exceed Your Vision is a registered logomark of Seiko Epson Corporation, and 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.

SOURCE Epson America, Inc.