Skyworth Has LG in Its Sights as It Readies OLED TV Blitz in US Market
Skyworth is making a “big push” into OLED TV in the U.S. this year, John Homlish, senior vice president-sales and marketing, told Consumer Electronics Daily Wednesday. The company has been producing TVs with LG Display for the China market since 2013 and now wants to bring its own prowess -- taking raw panels and adding its Chameleon Extreme processor and Google’s Android TV 10 platform -- to bring what Homlish called Tier 1 technology to the U.S. market.
National distribution is the ultimate goal, but Skyworth’s current path to the U.S. market is through independent AV retailers such as P.C. Richard and dealers within the Nationwide and NATM buying groups. Plans were interrupted by COVID-19 in 2020, when dealers weren’t able to demo TVs in stores. “The independent retail channel was hit pretty hard,” Homlish said, with most having to “regroup” and focus on e-commerce.
Skyworth has 60% of the OLED TV market in China, said Homlish, and is “well-positioned” to “take the fruits” out of the Guangzhou plant it invested in with LG Display and bring them to North America, where it plans to compete head to head with LG’s TV brand. “We’re going to aggressively pursue OLED in the U.S. as an affordable alternative to LG,” said Homlish, declining to give pricing for the sets, which are due in March. Skyworth will launch its 2021 line with 55- and 65-inch screen sizes and is looking at larger ones, he said, but it hasn’t decided whether it will bring in larger models in Q4.
Skyworth’s biggest challenge is to crack the premium TV segment in the U.S., said the executive. “The way we can do that is with our core competence and the fact that we build our own products,” Homlish said. Developing the brand will be a challenge in the U.S., where the company hopes to get consumers to accept Skyworth as a “Tier 2 brand providing T-1 product.”
The China-based company has been selling branded TVs in the North American market in limited fashion since 2019. It has several decades’ experience as an original design maker, supplying TVs to the major Korean brands and a large Japanese TV maker, Homlish said. Skyworth’s goal last year was to expand U.S. distribution, but COVID-19 disrupted those efforts. It remains committed to the independent retail channel, where salespeople can “tell the story who Skyworth is.”
On whether the company will try to fortify its reputation in the U.S. with a warranty that exceeds standard terms, Homlish said there have been discussions, but for now, it’s one year for parts and labor, “the same that LG provides.” It hopes to secure a series of positive reviews to prop up the company's tech cred.
Skyworth sells a range of TV technologies domestically, including 8K and mini and micro LED TVs. “We have the capability to bring all these products to the marketplace,” but “until we’re able to establish the brand, we’re not going to bring everything to the market,” Homlish said of North America. Its other 2021 TVs for the U.S. market will be LED-lit LCDs, ranging from entry-level HD to 120 Hz models with variable refresh rates for gamers. Select Skyworth TVs pack Dolby Atmos, Vision and Vision IQ technology.