Konka triggers high-end TV price war

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, February 14, 2004

Konka triggers high-end TV price war

Konka, one of the major TV producers in China, has slashed the price of its 46-inch high-end plasma display panel (PDP) TV set by nearly 6,000 yuan (726 US dollars) and started a price war.

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Konka, one of the major TV producers in China, has slashed the price of its 46-inch high-end plasma display panel (PDP) TV set by nearly 6,000 yuan (726 US dollars) and started a price war.

The cut brought the per unit price down to a record low of under 30,000 yuan, which has triggered this year's first price warin the country's TV manufacturing industry, China Daily reported Saturday.

Following Konka's move, one of China's largest home appliance retailers Suning Appliance Chains on Monday cut the price of all PDP TV sets it sells by an average 20 percent.

Domestic TV brands including Haier, Hisense, TCL, Skyworth and expensive overseas brands, such as Panasonic, Toshiba, Philips andLG, have also had their prices lowered, the paper said.

"After the price cut, this week's sales volume of PDP TV sets almost doubled compared with the previous week," said Xu Zhengfei,an official from the marketing department of Beijing Suning Appliance Chains.

In chain stores, Haier's 46-inch PDP TV set is priced as low as29,000 yuan while the price of the XOCECO 42-inch set has plunged to below 24,000 yuan, the paper said.

Just about four years ago, when they first appeared on the Chinese market, these types of TV sets were sold at a steep 260,000 yuan.

"The sharp price cuts are made possible mainly due to technological improvements and TV manufacturer's expansion of production capacity," said Xu, an official from Konka's multimediamarketing department, who declined to give his full name.

He said since last year his company has shifted its focus to high-end TV products, including PDP TV sets, from the traditional regular-sized cathode-ray tube TV.

With further development of technology and production expansioncatering to an increase in market demand, the cost of PDP TV sets will continue to drop, Konka's Xu added.

"Suning's price-cut is not a short-term promotion, and PDP TV sets are likely to be sold at lower prices this year," said Suning's Xu.

Source: Xinhua

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