Samsung Leads with Neo QLED, Surpasses 20 Million TV Sales in First Half for the First Time in 5 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Samsung Electronics sold more than 20 million TVs in the global TV market in the first half of this year. It is the first time in five years since 2016 that Samsung's TV sales have exceeded 20 million units in the first half of the year. Leading with premium models such as Neo QLED, Samsung Electronics is running toward the record of being 'world number one' in the global TV market for 16 consecutive years.

According to global market research firm Omdia on the 24th, the TV market in the first half of this year was 99.11 million units, worth $54.287 billion (about 63.6 trillion KRW), increasing by 7.4% and 36.1% respectively compared to the same period last year. Samsung Electronics sold 21.03 million TVs in the first half of this year, maintaining the number one position with a market share of 31% in value and 21.2% in volume.

Despite adverse factors such as supply issues of key components and rising raw material prices, the first half TV market continued to see sales of extra-large and premium products due to 'pent-up' consumption caused by COVID-19. In particular, premium products such as QLED TVs and OLED TVs sold 5.25 million and 2.73 million units respectively in the first half.

Samsung QLED TVs, centered on Neo QLED, sold about 4 million units in the first half, showing an increase of more than 46% compared to the same period last year. Generally, since sales in the second half exceed those in the first half, it is expected that the sales volume will reach 10 million units this year. Samsung QLED TVs recorded cumulative sales of 16.51 million units, with 800,000 units sold in 2017, 2.6 million in 2018, 5.32 million in 2019, and 7.79 million last year.

Along with premium products, the extra-large TV market of 75 inches and above also showed rapid growth. TVs 75 inches and above accounted for 14.6% of the total TV market value in the first half, increasing by 4.4 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Samsung Electronics recorded a market share of 43% in the 75-inch and above market and 51.9% in the 80-inch and above market in the first half of this year.

Meanwhile, Korean companies' market share in the global TV market in the first half of this year accounted for half of the global TV market with Samsung at 31% and LG at 19% in value. An industry official said, "As consumers' TV usage expands to various purposes such as home entertainment, home training, and home office, demand for extra-large TVs is rapidly increasing."