The #1 Seller of Flat Panel HDTVs in the U.S. Is Now an American Company!

The #1 Seller of Flat Panel HDTVs in the U.S. Is Now an American Company!

IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- VIZIO, once known as the fastest growing brand of HDTVs, was named by DisplaySearch as the #1 selling brand of flat panel (LCD and Plasma) HDTVs in the U.S. With a business model focused on providing high-performance and high-value HDTVs, VIZIO, in just 4 years, has gone from virtual obscurity to #1 in North American flat panel HDTV sales. For the first time in more than a decade an American brand led major categories in U.S. TV sales.

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According to DisplaySearch Founder and President Ross Young, "VIZIO's rise from the #15 flat panel TV brand in Q2'05 to #1 in Q2'07 is quite remarkable given the intense competition in this market and can be attributed to its unique channel strategy. Its warehouse club channel focus and lack of channel conflicts enabled the company to get to disruptive price points which helped fuel the rapid rise of the warehouse club channel in the US TV market and caused its shipments to surge. In addition, VIZIO's successful expansion outside of the club channel to Circuit City, Sears and Wal-Mart while maintaining its attractive price points further boosted its growth and enabled the company to earn the #1 ranking in the North American flat panel TV market."

Table 1 Q1'07 - Q2'07 North American LCD
TV Unit Rankings and Growth

Q1'07 Q2'07 Y/Y Growth
Vizio 9.1 % 12.1 % 433 %
Samsung 13.7 % 10.7 % 90 %
Sharp 12.1 % 9.1 % 53 %
Funai (Sylvania) 6.6 % 7.8 % 32 %
Polaroid 4.0 % 7.5 % 118 %
Other 54.6 % 52.8 % 70 %
Total 100.0 % 100.0 % 85 %
Source: DisplaySearch

Table 2 Q1'07 - Q2'07 North American Flat Panel
TV Unit Rankings and Growth

Q1'07 Q2'07 Y/Y Growth
Vizio 8.8 % 11.9 % 340 %
Samsung 14.4 % 11.3 % 67 %
Sharp 9.9 % 7.9 % 53 %
Philips 8.0 % 7.2 % -19 %
Funai (Sylvania) 5.4 % 6.8 % 16 %
Other 53.4 % 54.8 % 75 %
Total 100.0 % 100.0 % 65 %
Source: DisplaySearch

"It is all about making great products more affordable. Dell proved it was possible with their PC's, Southwest Airlines proved it on travel, we've proven it on flat panel HDTV's," offered William Wang CEO of VIZIO. "I am glad to hear that with DisplaySearch's numbers, we've officially earned the #1 spot for our vision and efforts, and I promise we'll make VIZIO even better!" stated Wang.

According to Quixel Research's 2nd quarter 2007 "Best Sellers" report, "VIZIO's success in the Flat TV category continues to grow each quarter. The company had the top selling LCD TV's from 20" all the way to 47" so they literally blanketed the USA market with their top sellers in the second quarter of 2007. For the second consecutive quarter, VIZIO is leading in the 32" screen-size segment, the largest LCD TV segment and the primary battleground amongst brands," stated Tamaryn Pratt of Quixel Research.

VIZIO's success has also led to another first in the TV business according to iSuppli principal analyst Riddhi Patel who reported, "VIZIO has strengthened its position in the US LCD TV market because of its attractive pricing, improved brand recognition and increased channel visibility. Having added Wal-Mart and Sears in the second quarter of 2007, VIZIO has emerged as the first value brand to surpass shipments of premium brands including Samsung, Sony, Sharp and LG Electronics."

To that end, the timing for the announcement of the lineup growing to four 1080p LCD models at breakthrough prices couldn't have been better. To continue VIZIO's phenomenal success, three Full (1080p) HD models, the GV42LF, GV47LF and GV52LF, are now part of VIZIO's Gallevia brand TV's. VIZIO's two 42" models (GV42LF and VU42LF) are virtually the same, however the GV42LF offers removable base and speakers. The VU42LF is the most affordable Full (1080p) LCD HDTV ever released by VIZIO and sports a bold, new bezel frame design that wraps around the screen.

All the new VIZIO 1080p models are now shipping with the following MSRP's:

VU42LF (42-inch) - $1199.99
GV42LF (42-inch) - $1399.99
GV47LF (47-inch) - $1699.99
GV52LF (52-inch) - $2299.99

About VIZIO

VIZIO, Inc. "Where Vision Meets Value," headquartered in Irvine, California, is the U.S.'s top flat panel television brand. Their VIZIO brand has been seen and heard on TV and radio, including NBC's Today Show, ABC's Good Morning America and Live with Regis and Kelly, won numerous awards from leading publications including Good Housekeeping's Best Big-Screens, CNET's Top 10 Holiday Gifts, PC World's Best Buy, Sound & Vision's Editors Choice, Home Theater Magazine's Rave Award, PC Magazine's Editors Choice, AVRev.com's #1 Product We Love the Best and The Perfect Vision's Products of the Year. VIZIO is bringing vision to the consumer electronics market through practical innovation. VIZIO products offer customers advanced technologies at the most affordable value. Products include the VIZIO, Maximvs and Gallevia lines of Plasma and LCD HDTVs. Many of these products can be found at BJ's Wholesale, Circuit City, Costco Wholesale, Sam's Club, Sears, Wal-Mart, and other retailers nationwide along with authorized online partners. For more information, please call 888-VIZIOCE or visit on the web at http://www.vizio.com/.

The V, VIZIO, Gallevia, Maximvs, Where Vision Meets Value names, phase and symbols are trademarks or registered trademarks of VIZIO, Inc. All other trademarks may be the property of their respective holders.

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Source: VIZIO, Inc.

CONTACT: Jim Noyd of Noyd Communications Inc., +1-310-951-3768,
jim.noyd@noydcom.com, for VIZIO, Inc.

Web site:

http://www.noydcom.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos, additional specifications, information, interview requests and product evaluations should be directed to agency. /First Call Analyst:

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