Just as Pioneer, Hitachi, Fujitsu and Philips desert the Australian TV market Loewe an extremely popular European TV brand during the days of CRT TV is set to reappear in Australian stores.
The move follows the dumping of distributor International Dynamics and the appointment of Audio Products Australia late last year.
Set to be sold via the specialist channel two of Australia’s biggest TV retailers have told ChannelNews that they would like the opportunity to sell the German brand because it “has a pedigree and an excellent reputation” among older Australians.
“This is a stylish European brand that looks different than the many Asian branded TV’s” said an executive at Harvey Norman.
The new Loewe models will range in price from $3,999 for a 32″ model complete with built in hard drive, to a high end 52″ model that will sell $11,999.
“Loewe doesn’t function like traditional TV brands, bringing out totally new products every six months or so. Instead, it tends to continually upgrade various elements of its sets, adding enhanced functionality, new design twists and extra customisation options as and when they become available said John Archer a leading TV reviewer on Home Cinema Choice.
One of the most defining points about Loewe is that it goes out of its way to deliver something truly close to a bespoke TV buying experience. This is especially true of the aptly named ‘Individual’ series the Compose 40 belongs to, for within this category you can choose from: a selection of colours for the main bezel, different colours for the inset panels down the TV’s sides, different stand or wall mount options, a good selection of audio options, and even the tuner type you want” he said.
Among the models to be launched in Australia will be models with 100 Hz technology Integrated duel HDTV tuners and DR+ hard disk recorder. Individual speaker configuration: from Sound+ 2.0 to Sound+ 5.1 in conjunction with Individual Sound.
Some high end models will be panels only complete with 250GB hard drive IP connectivity and content sources. These say Audio Products Australia is designed to be integrated into high end sound systems by installers.
Steve Krinks the product manager for Loewe at APA said “we have had an excellent response from the specialist channel and we are confident that there is a market for a premium TV product”.
Ken Dwyer the Managing Director of APA said” Loewe is a premium TV brand and this is not just a case of sticking a premium label on a European product it is premium components wrapped into a cutting edge design. Right through the entire Loewe supply chain from design to the product to the selling of the product you will see experience and quality and this is what makes Loewe a premium brand. Some Asian brands think that premium is price and a label. This is not the case”.
The new range will go on sale next month.
