Vizio Surges as Price Matters

As the global downturn forces consumers to tighten their belts and seek bargains, so-called value brands that focus on low prices are grabbing more attention from American consumers. Vizio, which relies on Taiwan's Amtran Technology for TV manufacturing to keep its overhead costs down, has overtaken Sony (SNE) as the No. 2 flat panel TV brand in the U.S. Vizio accounted for 14.3% of U.S. flat TV shipments in the last quarter of 2008, against Sony's 13.5%. Samsung retained its place as the top-selling brand, with a 20.2% share.