Top retailers differ on the dominance of technology
The sale of plasma and LCD television sets in the UAE has gone down due to the newer technology of LED ones, a trend which is expected to continue, according to some retaliers in the electronics segment.
"There is a definite shift in consumer preference for LED technology. In 2009, LED TV had a share of around five per cent in the overall panel category. This year, we see the share growing to over 45 per cent and we expect this trend to continue," Gaurav Malaviya, Business Head at Plug-Ins, told Emirates 24|7.
According to Malaviya, the better technology of LEDs is making them the choice of many customers. "The increase in demand is primarily due to awareness created by all major brands as also the price erosion in LED TVs which has made it very competitive with LCDs and plasmas TVs," says the Plug-Ins expert.
"The technology itself shows a visible improvement in picture quality and there is demand from customer's once they see the comparison in our stores. Customers expect LED TVs to be more expensive which was the main factor for slower sales two years ago. But with competitive prices and the latest technology customers are increasingly upgrading or buying LED TVs. Also major brands such as Samsung, LG and Sony are now increasing the product line-up in this category thereby providing greater options to customers. The LED segment is definitely a focus category for 2011," he added.
However, some experts differ and say that this may not be the case. Ashish Panjabi, COO, Jacky's Electronics believes that "plasma and LCD are two totally different technologies whereas LED is actually an off-shoot from LCD so you can't really say LCD is losing out to LED as LED is an extension of LCD technology. Plasma on the other hand focuses on larger screen sizes where it is still much more cost-effective than LCD / LED technology."
"Plasma carries about a 12-15 per cent share of total TV sales for us,' he told this website.
© Emirates 24|7 2011
