Home Entertainment ANALYSIS: SES ULTRA HD CONFERENCE
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The panel (left to right): James Thomas, product manager, LG Electronics; Mike Somerset, TV marketing manager, Sony UK; Howard Saycell, chief executive, Retra; Chris Forrester, panel chairman, journalist and consultant
‘Show them why it’s worth buying’
Most consumers simply don’t understand what 4K is and what content is available. This SES conference panel discusses the challenges facing manufacturers and retailers in convincing them of the benefi ts it has to offer
Q: How is the retail market dealing with UHD? James Thomas: In terms of UHD itself, it’s become the more recognisable buzzword for anyone in the market for buying a TV now. People have heard the word 4K, but they don’t necessarily know what it is, or what the improvement to picture quality it will give them. In-store demonstrations are key, so that consumers can see the differences in picture quality and we need the content to drive that.
Mike Somerset: In retail, the job is to take those cus- tomers who have heard the buzzwords, but perhaps don’t understand what HDR and 4K means, and to show them content on these platforms, so they know why it’s what they want. We did a survey of our retail ambassadors recent-
ly, because we wanted to know what consumers already know about TVs and what they’re looking for when they buy one. We asked them which features the average customer is looking for from a TV before they start their sales pitch. Way at the top of that list was 4K and then HDR. So, people know these buzzwords, but we need to show them why it looks
good, and come up with in-store solutions to make the TVs look as amazing as possible, so that it grabs their attention.
Q: How’s the market looking from a retail perspective? Howard Saycell: What we’ve witnessed in this industry, over the years, is a race to the bottom and it’s been driven by retailers trying to gain market share, by brands trying to gain market share, and the fact that RPM (Resale Price Maintenance) no longer exists. There’s a definite ‘wow’ about this industry. It’s
moving forward apace and, as a consumer, I’m really excited about it. But the reality is that, from a retail perspective, there’s just no extra margin out there. On average, our members make around nine per cent margin on a flat-panel TV. If you work out the overheads and associated costs, when they make nine per cent on the sale of a £550 TV, for example, they’re actually losing money on it. My big fear is that, unless we address the fact that the retail part of the chain doesn’t actually make any money, then we will lose high-street dealers and then where are people going to actually go and see all of these wonderful innovations and commit their money to it?
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