Video Sales Heat Up For The Holidays

Manufacturer to dealer sales of video units showed strong gains in November, as consumers began to gear up for holiday gift giving. According to figures issued today by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA - formerly CEMA), sales of video products in November reached nearly 6.5 million units; continuing a year-long upward trend, and bringing year-to-date sales to 54.9 million units, an increase of 22 percent over last year.Almost every major video category posted double-digit growth in November. A dramatic gain was seen in sales of TV/VCR combinations, which grew by 40 percent over last November. Following closely behind were sales of camcorders, posting a gain of 27 percent. Sales of projection TVs also showed double-digit growth, increasing by 11 percent over last November. The gain in sales of projection TVs was especially significant, as year-to-date sales eclipsed the one million unit mark for the first time ever. Year-to-date sales of projection TVs are now 13 percent ahead of 1998 figures.November also saw a continuation of the spectacular growth in sales of DVD players. Sales of DVD players in November reached almost 450,000 units, bringing year-to-date sales to more than 3.4 million units. With strong December holiday sales still to come, total year-to-date sales of DVD players now are projected to reach nearly 4 million units - astoundingly higher than CEA's early and mid-year projections of 1.8 million and 3 million, respectively.Gary Shapiro, CEA president and CEO, commented, ""We could not be more pleased with the November figures. Sales of projection TVs and DVD players are growing at an unprecedented pace. Those figures, combined with the strong growth in sales of large-screen direct view TVs and the fact that nearly half of the VCRs being sold utilize hi-fi stereo, point to a clear trend in consumers' desire for a more complete home theatre experience.""Other categories posting gains in November included analog televisions and VCR decks, which reached monthly sales levels of 2.4 and 2.6 million units, respectively. Year-to-date sales in each of these categories is approximately 21 million units, putting TV sales 4 percent ahead of last year and VCRs 26 percent ahead.

Source: CEA (Consumer Electronics Association)