Kolin to go to U.S. market with own brand

Taipei, Dec. 23, 2003 (CENS)--Taiwanese household-appliance supplier Taiwan Kolin Co., Ltd. Recently decided to tap the U.S. market with its brand name "Kolin" and has stricken a deal with an American retailer to first try the U.S. market for 50-inch LCOS-projector TVs and liquid-crystal display TVs.

The company's executives pointed out that the company will begin to tap overseas market in a big way next year after one year of preparation, with the U.S. market as the primary target. For a long time, the company has depended solely on the domestic market for revenue.

They said the U.S. is currently the world's largest market for big-screen TVs. The company planned to promote its products at a U.S. consumer-electronics show next year. In addition to own-branded products, the company will ship OEM-based and ODM-based wares to the U.S. In line with the company's U.S. market plan, the company will open a logistic and technological-assistance center in the western coast of the States. It has projected to count on the U.S. market for 50% of its revenue of LCOS-projector TVs and LCD TVs next year. Afterward, it will expand sales to Europe.

Kolin is discussing with JVC, supplier of core chips for its TVs, and Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd., supplier of its TV screens, over deals of trimming costs in order to boost competitiveness. The Taiwanese household-appliance supplier has projected to totally ship 20,000 LCOS-projector TVs and 100,000 LCD TVs next year at home and overseas. It has planned to rake in revenue of NT$5 billion (US$147 million) from domestic sales next year, increasing from NT$4.3 billion (US$126 million) estimated for this year.

Kolin rolled out 50-inch LCOS-projector TV in August this year, the first model of its kind in Taiwan. The company's executives pointed out that LCOS-projector TVs have caught eyes of many Taiwanese household-appliance suppliers and inspired them to join the production. Kolin and Sanyo Taiwan have begun producing the wares, while Teco Electrical & Machinery and Tatung Corp. are expected to soon follow suit.

President C.L. Liu of Kolin pointed out that his company's LCOS-projector TVs adopt chips from dedicated supplier JVC, allowing its TVs to perform a quality three-million pixel image solution. He noted Sanyo Taiwan's TV uses a 2.36 million-pixel chip. Sanyo Taiwan debuted its 53-inch LCOS-projector TVs only a few days ago in cooperation with Taiwanese chip designer United Microdisplay Optronics Corp.