Irvine, CA -- VIZIO, the mass-market retail supplier of plasma and LCD HDTVs nationwide has announced that its 2008 4th quarter sales accounted for 15 percent of all flat-panel (FPTV) shipments to the U.S., elevating it to the second largest shipper of HDTVs (according to iSupply). iSuppli reported that VIZIO experienced 15 percent “year-over-year” growth in Q4 FPTV sales by selling 1,238,840 units, which is the largest per quarter shipping quantity in VIZIO company history.
 
"The demand for VIZIO products has never been stronger," stated Laynie Newsome, VIZIO co-founder and VP sales and marketing communications. "Even during times when tier-one competitors drop their prices (and lose millions of dollars in the process) the American Consumer clearly recognizes VIZIO as a preferred consumer electronics brand." 
 
"VIZIO demonstrated 53 percent Q/Q flat-panel TV growth in Q4'08, the strongest among the top 10 brands for all of North America according to DisplaySearch's shipment tracking, climbing from #5 to #3 in total flat-panel TV units while basically only participating in the U.S. market," said Paul Gagnon, director of North America TV market researcher, DisplaySearch. "We expect that consumers in 2009 will be especially concerned with getting the most value for their money, which aligns well with VIZIO's product strategy, even in their premium XVT line."
 
Even in a difficult retail environment, VIZIO exceeded its sales goals by significantly increasing holiday (November 24 - December 31) unit sales by 52 percent over 2007 levels. VIZIO's sales momentum has continued through to the first quarter of 2009 with increased demand from key retail partners.
 
"According to our initial analysis and despite the current economic downturn, VIZIO has moved to the number two position in the U.S. flat panel TV market during the critical fourth quarter," said Riddhi Patel, principal analyst at iSuppli. "The current sales environment is obviously difficult for all television makers due to the slowdown in consumer spending; retaining position and achieving growth in these challenging times is an accomplishment."
 
"VIZIO has already shown incredible success in offering models that accelerate their unit sales according to Quixel's quarterly reports. The brand regularly ranks among the top 5 best sellers in the U.S. for Flat Panel TVs. This quarter was no different with the brand's VW32L and VW22L models placing 1st and 5th in unit sales," stated Tamaryn Pratt of Quixel Research. "Growing into smaller and higher performance products while maintaining their value pricing rewarded the brand and their partners with additional market share during the holidays."