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Technology Stocks : C-Cube -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stoctrash who wrote (27027)	12/22/1997 3:03:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

US consumer electronics sales............................................... twice.virtualmarketing.com Nov. Video Shipments Disappointing - -December 22, 1997 Though apparently relatively healthy in terms of retail action, November was a disappointing month for factory and distributor sales of video hardware to dealers, according to CEMA figures, which show a significant across-the-board slowdown in annualized selling rates. VCR decks provided the only new monthly unit sales record in November, and that by a scant 3,400 sets, as shipments squeaked up just 0.2% from November last year to 1.61 million. Even so, the 11-month sales total of 15.4 million would have made for the second-biggest year in history and was up 8.9% from last year. But based on the traditional selling pattern of the past five years, November VCR deck sales were at a soft seasonally adjusted annualized selling rate of just 15.7 million, off a full million from October's rate and well below the 11-month rate of 17.1 million. Also on the tape front, camcorder sales took their second-steepest drop of the year in November, sinking 22.9% to 307,300, for an 11-month total of 3.42 million, up 2.9%. The month's annualized selling rate was a weak 2.9 million, way below October's 4.3 million rate and off from the 3.8 million rate for the first 11 months. In TV, direct-view color sales dropped 11.9% in the month to 2.19 million, and were down 2.8% to 19.5 million for the first 11 months. The November selling rate was 20.7 million, a drop from both the 22.5 million October rate and the 21.6 million 11-month rate. TV/VCR sales joined in the general slump, with unit sales of 235,900, down 16%, though the 11-month total of 2.16 million was still up 8.2%. The November selling rate of just 1.86 million was a four-year low and well down from the 2.53 million October rate and the 11-month average of 2.39 million. November projection TV sales did improve on last year's performance, coming in at 93,100, up 4.7%. But the total was well short of the 105,900 record for the month set in 1995. Sales on the year-through-November of 818,400 were up 7.1%. The November selling rate was a sluggish 835,000, which fell well short of October's 916,000 rate and the 11-month average rate of 942,000. DVD player sales came in at 37,700, which was the second-best monthly performance of the year, though well short of the monthly record of 56,400 set in October. Sales through the first 11 months totaled 306,900. Laserdisc player sales were down 73.5% to 2,400 for the month and off 67.5% to 45,500 for the full period. Based on the 11-month results, it now seems certain the industry will meet the 1997 sales levels of 22 million direct-view color TVs and 2.3 million TV/VCRs called for in the manufacturer consensus forecasts issued by CEMA last January. Sales have already exceeded the 14.2 million goal set for VCRs, though they will probably fall just short of the revised target of 17 million issued last fall. The 1997 sales targets of 990,000 for projection TVs and 3.9 million for camcorders set last January are well beyond reach, though the recently lowered projection sales estimate of 900,000 is still attainable. This year's sales of DVD players now look to come in closer to 350,000 than the 400,000 most marketers have been looking for.