US: Vizio came close to doubling LCD TV sales last year, moving into the leading position for LCD TV manufacturing in 2009, exceeding leading brands like Sony, Samsung and Toshiba, according to iSuppli.

Meanwhile, the company reported that Samsung Electronics took the top spot in overall flat panel TV market in 2009.

Vizio soar to number one

Vizio's LCD-TV shipments rose to 5.9 million units, a significant 92.1% increase on the 3.1 million in 2008. This represented that strongest growth among the top six leading brands, providing the manufacturer with a market share of 18.7%, increasing 12.6% from the year prior. The company's new ranking is an improvement on its third place position in 2008.

"Vizio continues to benefit from its strong brand recognition among U.S. consumers," iSuppli director, television systems and retail services, Riddhi Patel said.

"The company already has established itself as the price leader in LCD-TVs. The company played to this strength in 2009 by offering attractive promotions to consumers. Furthermore, Vizio moved to make its LCD-TV products more competitive with premium brands, adding higher-end features such as LED backlights and Internet connectivity," he added.

The company led the LCD-TV market during every quarter of 2009, except for the third, when Samsung took the top spot due to the success of its LED-backlit units.

Samsung leads flat panel TV race

The overall US flat-panel television market in 2009, consisting of both LCD-TVs and plasma sets, was led by Samsung.

The company's shipments rose to 6.6 million units, increasing 22.6% on the 5.4 million units in 2008. The company concluded the year with a market share of 18.4%, virtually unchanged from 18.5% in 2008.

"Samsung maintained its overall leadership in the U.S. flat panel television market due to the continued success of the LED-backlit LCD TVs and its strong price competitiveness in both value and premium TV segments," Patel said.

Toshiba takes second place

The second strongest performance among the top six LCD-TV brands, came from Toshiba Corp, which achieved an 81.7% increase in unit shipments in 2009. The company concluded the year with a 7.6% share of unit shipments, increasing on the 4.2% of 2008, attaining a fourth-place ranking for the year.

"Toshiba's rise was due to its increased shipments of LCD TVs at aggressive price points, which are much closer to the value brands," Patel said.

Sony strong in Q4

The fourth quarter saw a strong performance by Sony Corp, with its share growing to 13%, up from 7.7% in the third quarter. The company ranked third in the LCD-TV market in the fourth quarter and for the entire year of 2009.

"Sony's strong fourth-quarter performance mainly was driven by its aggressive pricing and promotions for the Christmas season," Patel said.

"Consumers were attracted by Sony's bundled deals combining LCD TVs with PlayStation 3 video game consoles and Blu-ray players."