A sudden surge in demand for 3D television sets in Europe seems to have taken manufacturers by surprise. Panasonic, the world’s fourth largest flat TV manufacturer, is facing a slew of delivery problems in light of this unexpected development.
Laurent Abadie, Panasonic Corporation’s Head of Europe has recently stated that the company was unable to correctly estimate demand: "We had a quite aggressive target, but demand was three to four times higher". This mismatch led to serious delivery problems at the manufacturer’s end. However, Abadie has stated that he expects delivery to be back on track later this month.
The company expects that the launch of new and innovative products will drive up demand further. Panasonic currently holds 35 percent of the market share in Europe for 3D TV sets with a 50 inch screen or bigger.
While Panasonic expects 3D TV sales to make a 15-20 percent contribution to its total revenue in Europe this year, the company has high expectations from its other product lines as well. Abadie is particularly optimistic about the company's 3D camcorder and its new Lumix G series camera which has a 3D lens. The camera is due to be launched at ‘Photokina’ a photography trade fair to be held at Cologne in late September.
Panasonic’s key competitors are Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Sony Corporation. Samsung enjoys a first mover’s advantage in the 3D TV market and is likely to sell the largest number of units worldwide this year. However, with technology research firm ISupply projecting an estimated 4.2 million 3D TV sets to be sold across the world this year, other manufacturers: Panasonic, Sony and LG Electronics are likely to have fair shares of the pie as well.
