World Cup soccer fever has consumers scoring new televisions

By YURI KAGEYAMA, AP Business Writer

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

At a Yamada electronics store, TVs are awash in blue -- the national team's jersey color. Pictures of midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura are everywhere -- splashed on banners hanging from ceilings and leaflets that say, "Go Shunsuke."

The British electronics chain Currys, which has 550 stores, is selling a flat-screen TV every 15 seconds, spokesman Mark Webb said.

Soccer's monthlong tournament comes as major electronics makers are boosting production of panels for slim TVs to keep up with global demand. It's 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 percent from the same period the previous year to 7.4 million TV sets, while global plasma TV shipments rose 87 percent on year during the first quarter to 1.7 million, according to DisplaySearch, which tracks sales.

In the United States, TV sales are strong -- but don't credit the World Cup. U.S. retailer Best Buy Co. Inc. confirmed strong demand for the sets but didn't mention soccer.

The number of liquid-crystal display TVs sold in Japan jumped 37 percent in May over the previous year while revenue soared 52 percent, underlining the trend toward pricier models, according to Tokyo-based BCN, which monitors industry data.

Sharp Corp., which led the LCD TV sales rush with 44 percent of the Japanese market, expects to sell 2.4 million LCD TVs in Japan during the fiscal year ending March 2007.

That would be 500,000 more than the previous year.

Sharp credits World Cup fever for its 50 percent on-year increase in LCD TV sales in Japan in April and May.

"The quality is just incredible," said Christopher Belton, a British freelance writer in Yokohama who bought a $4,000 46-inch high-definition Sony LCD TV to watch the World Cup. "It's better than actually being at the stadium."

The buying spree is expanding to DVD recorders. The time difference with Germany is prodding soccer fans to buy gear to record games that air late at night.

Japan's soccer team is threatening to make a first-round exit. But the country's electronics makers will continue to win regardless.

In Brazil, retailer Casas Bahia gave plasma TV buyers a chance to win another one for the equivalent of 40 cents -- but only if Brazil wins the tournament.

"It was a success," said sales director Michael Klein. "In just seven days, we sold what would have normally taken seventh months to sell."

British retail sales grew 4 percent in May on year, the strongest annual rate of increase since December 2005. Most of that is attributable to a surge in sales of electronics goods ahead of the World Cup, according to the Office for National Statistics.

John Lewis, a department store in Great Britain, reported that sales of flat panel TVs were up 118 percent from the beginning of February to the end of April compared to the same period the previous year.

"We get two opportunities this year to sell TVs," says Sony Corp. spokeswoman Mina Naito, referring to the World Cup and Christmas.

One reason the World Cup works as an incentive for gadget shopping: Companies time the release of new models to such events.

In case consumers miss out on the World Cup blitz, companies are looking to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to drive sales.

"We believe that even after the World Cup is over, the solid demand for bigger and flatter screens won't change," Panasonic spokesman Akira Kadota said.

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