Coby Testing Independent V-Zon Brand in Move to Become ‘Strong Tier-Two’ Supplier

Coby will decide this quarter whether to spin off V-Zon as a separate brand. The company has been testing the brand at P.C. Richard & Son stores to decide whether marketing a separate second brand “is a viable strategy,” Michael Troetti, president of Coby Electronics, told Consumer Electronics Daily. Coby V-Zon is the company’s sub-brand for portable DVD players and the company’s MPEG-4 video player, he noted.

To determine the marketability of V-Zon as an independent brand, Coby has been selling 15-, 19-, 22-, 26- and 32-inch LCD TVs and TV-DVD combo units exclusively with P.C. Richard, “and we are now evaluating that test,” he said. The company picked P.C. Richard based on its presence in the New York metropolitan area, southern New Jersey and Philadelphia, he said. V-Zon TVs are listed on the P.C. Richard website at prices from $129.97 to $299.97. Coby will decide before next quarter whether the V-Zon brand will appear alone on any products, Troetti said. Regardless, Coby V-ZON will remain a sub-brand on DVD players and portable MP4 video players, he said.

Coby’s long-term goal is to evolve into a “strong tier-two CE supplier,” and the company will position its “higher technology products with that goal in mind,” Troetti said. Distribution won’t change. “This goal is a work in progress and will develop over time,” Troetti said. “The goal is to market higher technology products by developing partnerships with retailers that support the Coby product portfolio and improving Coby’s position within those retailers by growing their revenue profitably,” he said.