China's VCD Player Makers Offer Co-Warranty
October 24, 1997 (BEIJING) -- Twelve of China's VCD
producers took the lead to join a nationwide warranty
network, a major initiative by the Ministry of Electronics Industry
(MEI) to improve after-sale service for VCD players.
The move is seen as a way to upgrade their products and services
because of fierce market competition and the short product life cycle of
their products.
Starting in November, about 500 out of the 3,044 household electrical
appliance maintenance centers on the network will offer repairs to
owners of the 12 VCD player brands, which account for 86 percent of
national VCD player market, within one year of purchase.
"It is good news for both buyers and producers," said Wu Zhengzhe,
deputy general manager of Guangdong Idall Electrical Appliance Co.,
Ltd., a major VCD maker in China. "It will help elevate the standard of
the product as well as the services."
Chinese factories produced 220,000 units of VCD players in 1995 and
2.24 million units in 1996. Sales were 65,000 units in 1995 and 2.69
million units in 1996. And in 1997, sales are expected to rise to 10
million units of VCD players, MEI experts said.
The experts attribute the popularity of VCD players in China to the
national craze for karaoke that began a few years ago, the moderate
prices of VCD players and the high density of TV sets among the
population.
Prices have kept dropping since the end of 1996. VCD players cost
more than RMB5,000 (US$602) when they first appeared in China,
but they were less than RMB2,000 at the end of 1996.
This summer, all major VCD player makers were involved in a fresh
price war when Idall cut its prices by 25-30 percent, which forced a
number of small firms out of the market.
Both the government and manufacturers have agreed that the only way
to improve competitiveness in the long run is to expand production and
improve technology, quality and services.
Although DVDs offer higher definition and larger capacity, prices of
DVD players are at least double those of VCD players. For this
reason, industrial insiders believe that VCD players can last in the
market for at least three years.
The expanded production lines will not be a waste when VCD players
are replaced by DVD players, because they also can be used to
assemble DVD players, they said.
Foreign brands, including Panasonic, Samsung and Philips, had a 30
percent share of the Chinese market in 1996.
(Xinhua News Agency) |
