Toshiba, Retailers Spin Strong First-Week HD-DVD Player Sales
Posted Wed Apr 26, 2006 at 12:49 PM PDT by
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."