TVS REGZA Corporation, the operator of Toshiba TV, has resumed its active expansion in Thailand's 30-billion-baht television market, in an attempt to substantially raise its market share.
Jason Zhu, assistant general manager of the company's global operation division, said that the recent reopening of the borders to overseas visitors and the imminent reclassification of Covid-19 as an endemic disease are both positive factors for economic recovery.
The forecast growth in exports due to the recovering global economy, an accelerating real estate market and expanding urbanisation all contribute positively to Toshiba TV in driving consumer demand for televisions once again, he said.
Chinese electronics maker Hisense Group, the parent company of TVS REGZA Corporation, took over TV and other visual products of a subsidiary of Toshiba Corp in 2017, and later changed Toshiba Visual Solutions Corporation to TVS REGZA Corporation in March 2021.
"With sales of Toshiba TV seeing an improvement last year, we decided to start proactively expanding Toshiba TV products in Thailand again this year, starting from rebranding our image to be fresh, changing new store displays to look more premium, and enhancing the sales distribution channel to many more marketing activities, with the aim of bringing back consumers' brand trust to the Toshiba brand,'' Mr Zhu said.
According to Mr Zhu, the overall TV market in Thailand has reached saturation point with a growth of only 3% annually. The Thai population is also becoming a "mobile first" society where everyone is always connected to the internet, whether via smartphones or tablets, when at home or outside.
"This paradigm shift is also a 'new challenge' for TV brands to drive the market forward,'' Mr Zhu said, adding that smart TVs in Thailand have a huge opportunity to grow because they make up only 25% of the overall TV market, compared to a 50% market share in Europe, North America and Singapore.
Tatsuhiro Nishioka, brand manager of Toshiba TV Global, said a Nielsen survey in 2018 found that the global smart TV market was valued at around US$152.9 billion, with the figures expected to reach $288.7 billion by 2025 with annual growth of 9.5%.
The survey also found that consumers are using smart TVs for much more than just TV -- not only using them to watch the broadcast programmes like the news, but also to enjoy various streaming services.
The Covid-19 pandemic also forced many people to work from home and has thus increased TV usage for both entertainment and work purposes, said Mr Nishioka, adding that these changes contributed to the largest growth in the home entertainment market.
Pongthep Sirisakulweroj, sales and marketing director of Toshiba TV Thailand, said Toshiba TV aims to achieve a market share of 10% in Thailand's TV market over the next five years, up from a 2% share in 2022.
