The much heralded, top end Philips 55” 4K OLED TV will not be launched in Australia after the failure of the Hisense 55” 4K LED TV which is now retailing for sub $1,500 in an effort to clear stock.
ChannelNews understands that Chinese Company Hisense who moved into the OLED TV market in an effort to position themselves in the premium TV market could now be losing tens of thousands of dollars on their shipment of their OLED TV’s that were originally priced at $3,499 for a 55” model.
Today that same Hisense TV that was paraded in front of media reviewers is being offered by Harvey Norman for $1,495 despite the LG OLED panel alone costing $1,399.
Add to this GST, a 30% margin for retailers, shipping and marketing costs and the losses suddenly mount up.
According to retailers Hisense is not seen as a premium brand with consumers choosing to buy an LG OLED.
Gizmodo reviewers noticed a bit more glare with the Hisense OLED offering over other OLED TV’s. They went on to say ‘It may not be as impressive as some of the comparable offerings from LG, Sony and Samsung.
Currently LG is supplying Sony, Hisense, TCL, Loewe and Panasonic with OLED panels.
ChannelNews understands that Foxconn who own Sharp and are a component partner of Loewe is set to launch an OLED manufacturing plant in 2020.
