TCL PURCHASES SANYO’S NORTH AMERICAN ASSEMBLY FACTORY
Assembly Factory Acquisition is Latest Step in Growing the World’s Third Largest TV Manufacturer’s Presence in North America
(Corona, CA) April 10, 2014 – TCL (The Creative Life), the third largest HDTV brand in the world, announced that it has purchased Sanyo’s North American TV Assembly Factory. TCL, which opened its North America Headquarters in Southern California in 2011, will leverage the assembly factory to meet the increased demand for TCL branded TVs in North America and to continue to handle OEM business for other leading TV brands.
“As one of the few vertically integrated TV brands in the industry, TCL has been building up its capabilities throughout the entire supply chain to put it in position to become a leader in the US market,” said Michelle Mao, President, TCL North America. “This acquisition assures our ability to meet retailer demand and gives us a local option to build TVs that allows us to react quickly to market demand and continue to offer a high quality product at a great value.”
The acquisition of an established assembly factory, strategically located in Tijuana, Mexico with a capacity to produce more than 1.5 million HDTVs annually, allows TCL to utilize its growing supply of panels from China Star Optoelectronics in the North American market. A state of the art panel factory that began production in 2011, CSOT is a joint venture between TCL and Samsung and currently produces over 20 million panels annually.
This purchase represents the most recent step in growing TCL’s presence in North America. TCL opened 2014 by announcing a partnership with Roku on the much anticipated TCL Roku TV lineup, available in 2H’14. In February, Chris Larson, a 20-year industry veteran left his post as VP of Sales at Toshiba to lead TCL’s Sales and Marketing efforts in the US. This past week, TCL announced its selection of D&H Distributing to handle its US distribution efforts and expand the brand’s reach. With an exciting 2014 product lineup, strong US leadership in place, increased distribution channels, and panel and production capacity, TCL is making major strides towards becoming a leader in the North American TV market.
For more information about TCL, please visit http://www.tclusa.com/.
# # #
About TCL Corporation
Founded in 1981, TCL Corporation (000100.SZ) is one of the largest consumer electronics enterprises in China, with over 70,000 employees in 40 countries throughout the world. Currently it has three listed subsidiaries: TCL Multimedia (01070.HK), TCL Communication (02618. HK), and Tonly Electronics (01249.HK), with a diverse business portfolio covering LCD TVs, LCD panels, mobile phones, audio and video equipment, home appliances and lighting products. In 2013, TCL’s total sales reached RMB85.32 billion, and the TCL brand value exceeded RMB63.9 billion. TCL is ranked No. 3 in market share of LCD TVs, No. 5 in mobile phones, and No. 5 in LCD panels sector, on global basis. Starting from 2014, TCL is focusing its goal of building new customer-centered “product + service” business model, while pushing its transformation towards “smart + Internet technologies.” TCL is committed to its new vision of “enriching lives of its customers by rendering products and services of ultimate experience.” For more information, please visit its website: http://www.tcl.com/en.php
