BenQ survey sees rising demand for quality monitors and sleeker designs in style-conscious Middle East markets
Dubai, United Arab Emirates ,5 January 2003
Demand for liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors in the Middle East will surge in 2003, according to end-of-year research conducted by BenQ, the region’s leader in digital lifestyle products.
“We found that an overwhelming number of people prefer the look and feel of LCD monitors over the more commonly-used cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors,” says Robert Dung, managing director, BenQ Middle East. “As a new generation of slim, stylish space-saving LCD monitors hit the market in 2003 and, as the average price stabilizes, we’ll see that preference convert into rapidly accelerating sales. There’s a strong demand for the newest and best technology, and 2003 will really deliver that.”
LCD monitors were one of BenQ’s hottest-selling products in 2002 and the company is gearing up for more focused, targeted campaigns to launch the next wave of monitors in 2003. BenQ’s long-term prediction is that LCDs will be used with about 30% of all the desktop computers within the region by 2005, a figure that will rise to 100% by 2007, as outdated CRT technology is totally replaced.
BenQ’s research also suggests that consumers are considering the perceived health benefits of owning LCD monitors, which, unlike CRT monitors, emit no radiation and therefore pose no risk to peoples’ health. It is thought that this factor will impact buying decisions in 2003, particularly among users who spend all day at their PCs.
In total, LCD monitors are currently used with about 10% of the region’s workplace and domestic desktops computers. Many existing sales are driven by early-adopters looking for the newest technology, and also by sales on the re-export market. However, the higher price of LCD monitors in comparison with CRT versions has held back more dynamic growth.
“In 2003, we’ll see a number of changes in the LCD monitor market that will drive demand up,” says Dung. “Many distributors and systems integrators are now bundling LCD monitors with their branded and non-branded PCs, so customers find will find it easier to take home an LCD. In addition, the current world-wide shortage of LCD monitors will be resolved, which will have the effect of stabilizing prices.”
BenQ is well-placed to assess current supply in the LCD monitor market, as the owner of the AU Panel factory, the second-largest manufacturer of LCD panels in the world. This has enabled BenQ to track developments in the LCD market over 2002, as well as providing it with a significant strategic advantage over its competitors.
As well as price stabilization, improved designs and intelligent technology will drive demand higher in 2003. The next wave of LCD monitors, which will hit the shelves in the first half of the New Year, have award-winning designs, improved brightness and contrast ratios, and better response times, so that monitors are faster to start up.
“In terms of technology, LCD monitors are only going to get better and more attractive in 2003,” says Dung. “That, combined with stabilized prices, is going to create a boom in the LCD market in 2003.”
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About BenQ
BenQ is an industry leader in digital life devices with an expertise in that encompasses the display, storage, imaging, wireless, and broadband areas. BenQ Middle East’s headquarter office is located in Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone.
BenQ has manufacturing plants in China, Malaysia, Mexico, and Taiwan. The company has 12,000 employees worldwide, supporting a strong global sales, marketing, and services network spanning China, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Americas. BenQ has research and development facilities in Taiwan (Hsinchu Lab), China (Suzhou Software Development Center), and California (Wireless Technology Center), and has close to 1,200 research and development employees in China, Taipei, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, San Diego. BenQ has amassed more than 880 global patents. For more information about BenQ, please visit our website at www.BenQ.co.ae.
© Press Release 2003
