Toshiba targets regional TV sales

Early this week, Toshiba unveiled its new business strategy in Singapore, saying that the ASEAN region was a lucrative TV market.

Speaking at the event, Shigenori Tokumitsu, vice president of Toshiba's Visual Products Company, said: "The ASEAN region is an emerging market with demand expected to increase rapidly in coming years. Our new strategy will help expand our market share there."

"Our TV business strategy in the new year will target six ASEAN countries, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, all of which are developing markets with great potential," Tokumitsu said.

"Vietnam is one of the most important markets. With the new business strategy, we expect to increase our market share here from the current 10 per cent to 20 per cent in the coming time," he said.

To realise the goals, Tokumitsu said the company had been developing many key plans, including making Singapore its headquarters for its Asian TV business in April of this year.

The move was expected to enhance sensitivity to market needs and to provide leading-edge products that fulfil the requirements of customers in the ASEAN region.

Since then, it has channelled major resources to developing an optimal business strategy and products for the region.

The company will also proactively introduce value-added models, develop dedicated products for ASEAN-member countries, and offer a wide line-up to meet diverse local requirements, he said.

These include a new Power TV series with automatic signal boosters and integrated battery back-ups.

The new TVs with such technologies have clear reception and operation even in areas that have a weak broadcast signal or unstable power supply. The sets also maximise power saving.

Takahiro Onda, chief marketing executive of Toshiba Corporation's Visual Products Company, said: "We developed Power TVs since many areas in ASEAN-member countries sometimes have to cope with power cuts or weak signals."

Onda said Vietnam was also an emerging market with huge potential.