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Cup fever in TV sales

TOKYO : World Cup fever is kicking up already-strong demand for flat-panel televisions as consumers looking for a sharper picture of matches are finding lower prices and marketing pitches honed for soccer fans.

At an electronics store here, TVs are awash in blue — the Japanese national team's jersey colour. Pictures of midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura are everywhere — splashed on banners hanging from ceilings and leaflets that say, "Go Shunsuke."

"Sales were going well even before the World Cup started," says a spokesman. "But now that it's finally begun, interest is high, and sales are growing."

The same story is unfolding in soccer-loving locales around the world.

The British electronics chain Currys, which has 550 stores Great Britain, is selling a flat-screen TV every 15 seconds.

Soccer's month-long tournament in Germany comes as major electronics makers are boosting production of panels for slim TVs to keep up with global demand. It is proving the perfect marketing opportunity.

Profits remain significant despite a recent price drop as consumers snatch up bigger models with high-definition features. A 32-inch liquid-crystal display TV sells for about $2,200 in Japan, and under $2,000 in the U.S. — about half the price of a few years ago.

Global shipments of liquid-crystal display TVs during the first quarter of this year jumped 135 per cent from the same period the previous year to 7.4 million TV sets. Global plasma TV shipments rose 87 per cent. — AP

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