CRT Television’s Last Bastion Falling as India Embraces LCDs

With liquid crystal display television (LCD TV) sales in India gaining momentum quickly, 2010 will be the last year that cathode ray tubes (CRTs) can lay claim as the leading television display type in the country on a revenue basis, according to iSuppli Corp.

"India represents one of the last strongholds for CRT TVs, with consumers in other major economies having transitioned the majority or nearly all of their television purchasing to LCD display technology in recent years,” said Riddhi Patel, Director of Television Systems and Retail Services for iSuppli. "However, the allure and declining prices of LCD TVs, along with increased consumer awareness, have spurred sales of the flat-panel televisions — and eroded the dominance of CRT TVs. As a result, LCD TV revenue in India will exceed that of CRT TV starting in 2011. LCD TV shipments will catch up the year after, exceeding those of CRT TVs starting in 2012.”

CRT TV revenue in India in 2011 will decline to $1.6 billion, down 32.3 percent $2.3 billion in 2010. In contrast, LCD TV revenue will rise to $3.5 billion in 2011, up a stunning 94.3 percent from $1.8 billion in 2010.

Meanwhile, CRT TV unit shipments will decline to 9.4 million in 2012, down from 11.1 million in 2011 and from 15.7 million in 2010. At the same time, LCD TV shipments will increase to 9.7 million units in 2012, up from 6.6 million in 2011 and from 3.3 million in 2010.

No local production
While demand for LCD TVs in India will increase rapidly over the next five years, LCD TV growth still will not be enough to compel TV manufacturers to open up local production plants for LCD panels or modules in the country. Samsung, LG and Dixon are increasing their presence in the country with final assembly plants, but unless demand in India increases significantly, localized LCD TV production does not appear to be feasible, especially as Korean and Chinese LCD TV OEMs prefer to manufacture their products in their own plants.

Assembly plants, on the other hand, are catching up in the country, with key players either already possessing facilities or announcing plans to invest in final assembly plants in India. The Indian government is also involved by reducing customs duties on important LCD panels.

Retail expansion
While localized plants may not be a reality in the near future, the increasing demand for LCD TVs is putting increased pressure on retailers in India to launch exclusive durable-only retail outlets. Meanwhile, several players in the market—such as LG Display, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, Whirlpool Corp and India-based Videocon—are busy forming relationships with retailers and other large-format retail chains in order to develop the appropriate sales channels to accommodate incoming demand for LCD TVs.

Learn more about the Indian TV market with Patel’s new report, entitled: The BRIC TV Market: India, At the Helm of An Accelerated Metamorphosis.

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