ViewSonic Corp. is looking to get out of the red by beefing up its business selling high-definition digital TVs.
The company, based just over the county line in Walnut, is looking to sell flat-panel digital TVs to consumers as well as companies that want to use them as “digital signs” in stores, hotels, medical offices and schools.
ViewSonic, which got its start in 1987, has its roots in selling liquid-crystal display monitors for desktop PCs. It got into flat-panel plasma TVs about four years ago.
The company’s since moved into LCD TVs, which use the same materials as its high-end desktop monitors.
It also sells projectors for home theater systems, tablet PCs and digital picture frames.
“The market for digital TVs is twice the size of the monitor market,” said Jeff Volpe, vice president of marketing for ViewSonic. “We’ve seen this whole extension of our heritage in digital monitors allowing us to be successful in moving our digital projectors and TVs.”
It recently created a separate division, called VTV, to focus on developing products and marketing digital TVs.
“The three lines of business we’ve pursued are really starting to round out ViewSonic as a display company,” Volpe said. “We are starting to be known as more than just a monitor company.”
ViewSonic is riding a couple of trends. For one, slimmer TVs are making it easier for consumers to put them in new and different places in their homes, Volpe said.
ViewSonic pushes a marketing strategy called the “other room,” which targets consumers who are considering putting a second or third digital TV in their home.
Kitchens, bathrooms, basements, bonus rooms, laundry rooms and recreational vehicles are all becoming home to digital TVs, which can be easily mounted on a wall, Volpe said.
“It’s addressing people who want TVs in rooms other than the family room, bedroom or living room,places where you wouldn’t normally put one,” he said.
Plus, digital TVs aren’t as expensive as they used to be.
Prices for LCD TVs have plunged more than 30% in the past two years, according to data from Port Washington, N.Y.-based market researcher NPD Group Inc.
“LCD TVs are already comparatively less expensive than what tube TVs were 10 years ago,” Volpe said.
The focus on TVs came after a rough period for the company.
ViewSonic, which is private but reports financial results because of its many stock option holders, sees sales of more than $1.5 billion a year. The company swung to a loss toward the end of 2007.
For the three months ended Sept. 30, the company had sales of $403 million, down 6% from a year earlier. It posted a loss of nearly $2 million.
The company said it took a hit because of slowing demand for desktop monitors as more consumers opted to buy laptops.
There also was a shortage in the glass used to make LCDs, which caused “increased panel prices, higher product costs and reduced margins,” according to the company.
Some Tweaks
ViewSonic has made some changes.
“We streamlined communications and decision making,” said Steve Woo, vice president and general manager of the VTV division. “We had to adjust our understanding of the market and get a quicker speed to market.”
ViewSonic put “one person (Woo) in charge of the whole process,from cradle to grave,” he said. “We understood where our stumbling blocks were.”
The company wasn’t staying competitive with the top dogs in the market, including Sony Corp., LG Electronics Inc., Panasonic Corp., Samsung Corp., Royal Philips Electronics NV and Irvine’s Vizio Inc.
“ViewSonic historically has not done as well as other competitors in the market place,” Woo said. “In some areas and TV sizes we didn’t have the best features when we needed them or we didn’t have the best prices when we needed them.”
The company is working to tackle segments of the market that aren’t already dominated by the big guys.
Woo puts the market into three segments: TVs less than 26 inches, TVs 32 inches to 42 inches and TVs bigger than 42 inches.
“Most of our competitors focus on the No. 2 segment, which is easily the most competitive,” he said. “We are focusing on the first and third segments.”
The company also is looking to appeal to customers outside the U.S.
ViewSonic has seen success selling in Asia and the Middle East.
During the third quarter, the Asia/Mideast region saw revenue of about $160 million, close behind the company’s $164 million sales in the U.S.
The Asia/Mideast region was the only profitable one for ViewSonic during the most recent quarter, posting nearly $4 million in net income.
