The Wall street Journal claims that Toshiba who are under pressure from its deteriorating chip business, aims to crank up their LCD television business. In Australia Toshiba is set to introduce several new products with several analysts claiming that the Japanese vendor could benefit from the exit of Philips from the Australian consumer electronic business later this year.
In recent Dow Jones reports Toshiba claimed that they to grab more than 10% of the global LCD TV market in the year ending March 2011, up from the 8% estimated for the current fiscal year. “We’ve got to grow in the world market outside Japan,” said Yoshihide Fujii, senior vice president of in charge of Toshiba’s digital media-network business. “We can’t make money in Japan.”
Driving Toshiba’s push for inreased sales is new technology and the inclusin in their new HD LCD TV’s of their up scaling technology that will allow in theirhigher sales is a series of new Regza-branded models. For the year-end shopping season, it has lined up 20 models with some features such as an automatic picture adjustment.
Competition in the LCD TV market is intensifying as other electronics manufacturers target increased sales of products that are expected to see higher demand. Sony Corp. has stated its ambition to become the world’s biggest LCD TV vendor by the fiscal year ending March 2011 by beating out South Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics Co.
Toshiba shares fell 3.5% to 465 yen Thursday after hitting a three-year low in early trading. “Investors are concerned about how bad Toshiba’s earnings will be,” said Takeo Miyamoto, an analyst at Deutsche Securities Japan.
He said Toshiba shares have also been pressured by a bid by Samsung Electronics Co. to purchase U.S. flash memory-card maker SanDisk Corp., Toshiba’s joint-venture partner. SanDisk’s board Wednesday rejected Samsung’s $5.85 billion cash offer.
But Mr. Miyamoto said he thinks Toshiba couldn’t stand still. “Toshiba may take action because it won’t let Samsung and SanDisk go together,” he said. Toshiba declined to comment on whether it will bid for SanDisk.
