Sales of DVD recorders fall short of expectation

Quakester2000

November 19, 2004

GristyMcFisty used our news submit to tell us that DVD recorder sales have fallen below manufacturers expectations on the run up to Christmas even with prices hitting a low of $149. LiteON and Eastern Asia Technology (EastTech) have seen smaller than expected demand due to prices remaining too high and user interfaces for software not being as easy to use. For this year sales of dvd recorders will not exceed 8 million units compared to the 13 million projected earlier this year.

The lower than expected demand for dvd recorders has also
hit LiteON one of Taiwan 's biggest optical drive makers. LiteON expects to sell 180,000 drives this month both under its name and through the OEM market which accounts for 75% of that volume. At the moment big American corporations are looking to Taiwan manufacturers to produce dvd recorders for next year. At current prices of OEM products as low as $99 for basic models LiteON is not accepting any orders at the moment. At these current OEM prices this would leave LiteON with no room for any profits.

Even with retail prices for
entry-level DVD recorders dropping from US$299 to US$149, global demand is falling short of original expectations during the traditional lead-up to the Christmas season, according to leading Taiwan OEM makers Lite-On IT and Eastern Asia Technology (EastTech). Smaller than expected demand is a result of prices remaining too high and user-interfaces not being easy enough to use, EasTech pointed out. For the year, the industry's total global sales volume will not exceed eight million units, much smaller than the 13 million projected early this year, EasTech indicated.

Lite-On IT produces DVD recorders for a few OEM clients as well as its own-brand products, mainly for sale in Taiwan. This month, Lite-On IT expects to ship 180,000 DVD recorders, with 75% of the volume produced for OEM clients. According to other Taiwan makers, large American retail channels are seeking Taiwan makers to produce DVD recorders for next year, with OEM prices as low as US$99 for entry-level models. For the time being, Lite-On IT is unwilling to accept orders with such low quotations since that would leave the company almost no room for profits, these Taiwan makers said.