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Toshiba, Retailers Spin Strong First-Week HD-DVD Player Sales
Wed Apr 26, 2006 at 03:49 PM ETTags: Hardware, Industry Forecasts, Best Buy, Toshiba (all tags)
One week into the launch of HD-DVD, format supporter Toshiba and national retailers
are spinning
upbeat initial hardware sales, according to Home Media Retailing.Since launching April 18, Toshiba has shipped a combined 15,000 units of its first two HD-DVD players. The manufacturer claims sales have been brisk, especially with the lower-priced $499 HD-A1 model, with Best Buy reportedly selling 1,000 of the players at 733 stores the first day they were on display.
"Initial sales results have been very positive and many key retailers quickly sold out, particularly on the $500 model," Toshiba marketing vp Jodi Sally told HMR. "We are continuing to make shipments daily to fulfill the demands from our retailers."
Major retail chain Tower Records also announced it will begin carrying a limited selection of HD-DVD hardware and software beginning next month, as well as Blu-Ray when the format launches in June.
However, some industry analysts are skeptical that initial consumer interest in HD-DVD is based more on spin than actual sales. "People aren't clamoring for the next generation of DVD," Laura Behrens, analyst for Gartner Consulting, complained to Reuters. "It's too complicated, too expensive, and they don't see the benefits."
- Related links:
- HD-DVD Launch A Mixed Bag [Home Media Retailing]
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