“Shoppers planning to buy a high-end Samsung TV might want to grab a closeout deal on last year’s model or else brace for sticker shock,” Martha C. White reports for MSNBC. “Taking a page from Apple’s playbook, the company reportedly plans to implement a fixed-price policy for its 2012 models.”
“In the cutthroat arena of television manufacturing, it’s a risky move. Among its peers, though, Samsung is the most likely candidate to pull this off — and possibly transform the TV-shopping experience in the process,” White reports. “Website HD Guru, which first reported the as-yet-unannounced pricing shift, said the new “unilateral pricing policy” will prohibit retailers from offering discounts below a price floor set by Samsung or risk losing the right to sell those products.”
White reports, “The website, citing unidentified industry sources and a leaked price list, said the result would be that Samsung HD televisions, including higher-end models selling for $1,600 and up, would carry a price premium of up to 15 percent over comparable models from makers such as LG and Panasonic… Samsung’s plan for fixed pricing would be a gamble, especially since the company is making its move before big-screen OLEDs come to market. In spite of some minor enhancements to the 2012 lineup, the company essentially is asking customers to pay more for a technology that’s getting long in the tooth.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Slavish Apple copier Samsung had better pray to The Great Photocopier in the Sky that the rumors of Apple entering the television market stay rumors forever.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Lynn Weiler” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Samsung: There’s no way an Apple television can beat us on picture quality – February 14, 2012
Secrets to Apple success: Displays; Apple sets the standard – January 22, 2012
TSMC, ASE, SPIL in running to supply parts for Apple’s smart TV; Foxconn likely to assemble – December 28, 2011
Apple suppliers soon to prep materials for iTV launch in 2nd or 3rd quarter of 2012, say sources – December 27, 2011
Analyst: Apple shifts from Samsung to Sharp for new 2012 HDTV displays – November 23, 2011
Maybe I’m missing something, but why would anyone pay a premium for a Samsung TV? As far as I can tell, their products are essentially the same as everyone else’s. No worse, but not particularly better. And how is this a page from Apple’s playbook? Apple’s products, especially its iOS products, are very competitively priced. So much so that tablet and phone competitors are finding it hard to compete on price.
Samsung TV’s are actually among the best. It is reasonable that consumers will pay a little extra for them. However, the difference between Samsung and their competitors is not as great as the difference between Apple and its competitors.
Samsung’s TV design and PQ are quite good, but they fail to leverage evolving FLAN technologies of AAPL products.
I bought a large screen Samsung tv but did not pay extra for the extended contract. One year and one week, two power supply caps died. The tech did not even need to see the report of the problems, but he managed to have EXACTLY the parts needed out of all the tvs that they service.
The capacitors were 10 volt in a 16 volt circuit. I asked the tech. He had 25 volt caps ready, soldered them on the pc board and everything has been great since then. $250 for the two caps and service.
Sub standard parts on an expensive tv….. Yep, premium is just the pricing, not the quality. PS, got the royal run around from their customer service.
Samsungs answer to bad quality, spend more money on advertising.
Just a thought.
Good luck with that.
This is from the article, give me a break
“I think Samsung has proven that they’ve got innovative products,” said Peter Misek, managing director at Jefferies & Co., who compared Samsung’s innovation and integration strategies to those practiced by Apple. “If you offer a lot of value you can set your price.”
Urk. Sorry, I just threw up in my mouth a little.
Samsung trying to define itself as a premium brand? I think Samsung is going to have a very rude awaking.
Good luck! (Scarcasim)
I have a Panasonic HDTV, and I think it’s looks very good. It’s built-in user interface is clunky (almost seems like an afterthought), and the remote control is ugly and cheap looking. However, I use Comcast cable, so I mostly use the cable box remote control and interface (which is almost as clunky). The TV is usually set to the same input (“channel”), and its remote control mostly just sits there.
So currently, 95% of my Panasonic HDTV user experience is based on the picture quality. Even the audio is routed through a sound system. The picture quality on my Panasonic HDTV is quite good, no complaints there. And if that’s mostly all that mattered, Samsung should do pretty well, because I’m sure their LCDs are high quality.
However, when Apple releases their HDTV, the equation will change. It won’t be about JUST the picture quality. Apple will somehow make the overall user experience, related to using the TV itself (not the TV service), significantly important to the customer. Picture quality will still be very important, but Apple does not make LCDs; Apple can buy the best quality LCD from the best LCD supplier. If Apple asks Samsung to supply them, would Samsung say NO?
Once again, Apple will have a unique desirable product in a field of the chronically indistinguishable. How is Samsung going to maintain a higher fixed price, when other mostly indistinguishable products sell for less?
If a company has a premium product that it is are selling at a competitive price relative to its merits, then that company has a great deal of pricing control. That would be Apple.
If that company’s product is a commodity in a market with very little opportunity for differentiation (such as the two leading flatscreen TV technologies on the market today – plasma and LED backlit LCD), then that pricing control is greatly diminished. That is particularly true if the competitors offer similar quality and reliability. In Samsung’s case, they do. This situation greatly reduces the pricing control of a company.
I predict that Samsung will have to retreat from this pricing approach unless the other major brands collude on price controls with Samsung.
If a competitor brings a viable OLED TV to market at a reasonable price, then Samsung will backtrack on its pricing faster than Usain Bolt in the 100m.
It will be interesting to watch Samsung’s strategy play out. I predict an epic and highly satisfying failure.
If a company has a premium product that it is selling at a competitive price relative to its merits, then that company has a great deal of pricing control. That would be Apple.
If that company’s product is a commodity in a market with very little opportunity for differentiation (such as the two leading flatscreen TV technologies on the market today – plasma and LED backlit LCD), then that pricing control is greatly diminished. That is particularly true if the competitors offer similar quality and reliability. In Samsung’s case, they do. This situation greatly reduces the pricing control of a company.
I predict that Samsung will have to retreat from this pricing approach unless the other major brands collude on price controls with Samsung.
If a competitor brings a viable OLED TV to market at a reasonable price, then Samsung will backtrack on its pricing faster than Usain Bolt in the 100m.
It will be interesting to watch Samsung’s strategy play out. I predict an epic and highly satisfying failure.
Samsung is about to learn the stark difference between “believing” they have a premium product and actually “having” one.
This will be a painful lesson for them. They must have just hired a lot of marketers!
“The next innovation has to be something dramatic,” Hossain said. ” IT WILL BE, AND SAMSUNG WILL BE RUN OVER, BADLY.
Can anyone explain why these Asian manufacturers are so concerned about pushing out the door hardware, but do not care about the software that comes on it? I mean phones, scanners, TV’s, etc. Fujitsu is very typical, they make tons of models of scanners, but their drivers are almost an oversight. if they made 2 or 3 models that had great software, they would rule the scanner world.
Man I do not know. Could be a mistake or brilliant on their part!
This can only help Apple when they finally bring theirs to market.
Big Apple fan here since 1985, and I despise what Samsung is doing within the smartphone market. The fact is, however, Samsung makes excellent televisions and is highly regarded in home theater circles. This breast beating over a yet-to-be-announced Apple television, and how it is going to trounce Samsung, sounds really foolish. No need to be ideologues over this stuff. To paraphrase Steve Jobs: Samsung doesn’t need to fail for Apple to succeed.
Sony has always had a problem thinking they are “All That”, by having slightly higher prices. Look where it has gotten them.
If Samsung raises prices, people will just buy LG, Vizio, or whatever. Samsung is setting itself up to be the next Sony.
I have an older Samsung, that still looks great. I have 2 newer Panasonics (LCD/LED), that also look great. I stopped looking at Samsung when they only offered mirror finish screens. Don’t like looking at room/people reflections during dark scenes.
Funny you mention Sony. Samsung strived for years to be Sony (or beat Sony..). Now they just might get more than they bargained for LOL
I’ll take a Panny TV over a Samsung any day, hands down.
Good luck with this Samsung.
your not the only one mate, Panasonic or LG for me.
All of the samesung sets I have seen had terrible picture quality, colour depth and ghosting on fast moving tv like football (soccer), f1 etc.