Already struggling in the PC market Toshiba has now bailed out of the US TV market in their own right.
This time last year the Company slashed from 32 to 19 the Countries where Toshiba PC’s would be sold, then they decided to get out of the Australian consumer TV market, now they have decided to pull up stumps in the US market.
Instead the Company has taken the same course as Philips by licensing their brand to Taiwan’s Compal Electronics who will now churn out TV’s branded Toshiba.
At CES 2015 the writing was on the wall with Toshiba choosing not to show any new TV’s despite the Company claiming last year that they had “no plans” to get out of the TV business.
At CES 2015 sources told ChannelNews that Toshiba was exploring licensing the brand to either a Chinese or Taiwanese Company.
At the weekend Toshiba confirmed that they have cut a deal resulting in what Japanese officials are calling a “fundamental restructuring,” adding that the under the new business structure Toshiba branded TV’s will start appearing in markets as of March 2015.
It is not known whether the Toshiba TV brand will reappear in Australian stores or whether an Australian distributor will be appointed to sell the brand. ChannelNews is aware that one distributor is interested in the brand for the Australian market.
The company has confirmed to ChannelNews that they will license the TV brand in other markets outside of Japan shortly.
“Toshiba responded to shifts in the TV market with value-added products, including large-screen and smart TV’s with a Cloud Portal, we have also taken steps to cut costs and boost profitability by reducing platforms and reducing employee head count” a Company spokesperson said.
However due to a slowing market, a move to new display technology and a lack of marketing budgets for TV’s to match the likes of Samsung, LG and Sony Toshiba has decided to quit the TV market as the division was becoming a major drain of on profits sources said.
“Toshiba has decided to build a new business structure,” the company said in a statement. Going forward, Toshiba said it will look to stabilize profitability by producing new technologies and services across diverse business fields which do not involve PC’s or TV’s.
