Vizio Credits Mass Retailers for its Stellar '08

Despite an atmosphere of anticipation in late 2008 over the then-impending DTV transition, the slumping economy caused a blip in the flat-panel Q4 TV sales curve. But that was not the case for Vizio flat panels, according to Laynie Newsome, company co-founder and vice president of sales and marketing communications.

Vizio TV sales remained robust through 2008 and that sell-through momentum has carried into 2009, propelled by what Newsome termed as the company’s “approach to the market, and its merchandising partners” – including discounters Costco, Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart, all of whom enjoyed Q4 sales boosts while higher-priced stores and the brands they featured suffered. “Their foot traffic helped us a lot,” she said.

Vizio, its stats show, experienced a 55 percent sell-through increase in 2008 over 2007 and was up 24 percent in sell-through between Nov. 25 and Dec. 31. The company last year increased its flat-panel SKU mix to include the flagship XVT series, 42- and 47-inch 120Hz and 32- and 37-inch 1080p LCD TVs, and a 19-inch LCD model that appeared in the latter half of 2008.