Television digest with AM-FM reports (Jan 1951-Jan 1952)

10 most manufacturers, once they are in an inventory position to justify it, will raise their prices so they can make money, and that by Oct. 15 we will have a higher price level in our industry on standard brands." RISE & FALL OF FACTORY PRICES & SALES: Average prices of TVs were trending downward even before RCA and other big makers broke down lists last month (Vol. 7:33 et seq) in out-and-out effort to unload inventories. Best index is factory average. Most authoritative source shows 1949 average factory price per set was $189.55, going down to $181.70 for 1950. Then, in January, while market still looked good, factory average jumped to $191.21, in February to $205.70. Then downtrend began: March $197.55, April $171.85, May $157.07, June $156.39. No figures for July or August are available yet. These averages are illusory, in one respect, since they cover all models and it's well known that buyers have turned more and more to lower-priced tables, which would tend to bring average down. July-August cuts should reduce averages more. It's also Interesting to note changes in factory inventories during first 6 months of 1951. Year began, RTMA shows, with about 150,000 sets on hand at factories. In January, RTMA production figure was 645,716, whereas factory sales, according to our report, were 633,708 (valued at $126,908,218 at factory). In February, output was 679,319, factory sales 612,799 ($126,053,787) ; March output 874,634, factory sales 718,986 ($142,035,675); April output 469,157, factory sales 285,498 ($49,061,450) ; May output 339,132, factory sales 241,790 ($39,987,824); June output 326,542, factory sales 129,287 ($20,220,076). Thus RTMA's reported 3,334,505 sets produced during first half of 1951 were offset by 2,622,068 sets sold at factories, a differential of 712,437. RTMA's inventory count at end of June was 723,309. Topics & Trends of TV Trade: Television Shares Management Corp. once again “guesstimates” top TV producers and their probable output in article written by its researchers Edgar N. Greenebaum Jr. and John W. Edgerton for Sept. 17 special supplement to Retailing Daily. They pick first 10 companies to produce 3,780,000 sets, rest of industry 1,520,000 — for industry total 5,300,000 — giving individual figures that are bound once more to arouse the ire of some industry leaders. This time, though, they don’t venture dollar volume, as they did for 1949 & 1950 (Vol. 5:45 & Vol. 6:8), nor do they attempt listing as many as 20 leaders, as formerly. Their “guesstimates”: Estimated Units 1951 1950 RCA 700,000 950,000 Admiral — 625,000 875,000 Philco — 625,000 875,000 Emerson 400,000 550,000 General Electric 400,000 425,000 Motorola 400,000 660,000 Zenith . 300,000 450,000 DuMont — 130,000 240,000 Crosley . 100,000 140,000 Hallicrafters — 100,000 172,000 3,780,000 5,337,000 Balance of Industry 1,520,000 2,163,000 TOTAL INDUSTRY . 5,300,000 7,500,000 Note: The 1950 figures are considerably x ■evised since they were “guesstimated” in advance in Februai •y 1950 (Vol 6:8), when rankings were forecast in this order; : Admix'al, RCA, Philco, Motorola, Zenith, Emerson, GE, DuMont, Tele-tone, Hallicrafters. :t> Western Winter Market set for Feb. 4-8 in San Francisco’s Western Merchandise Mart. Zenith’s 19 new TV models, shown distributors at Chicago convention Sept. 14-15, start with six 17-in. tables at (figures rounded) $230, $240, $250, $260, $270, $280. Six 17-in. consoles are $300, $310, $330, $350, $370, $380. Two 17-in. console combinations are $550 & $650. Sole 20-in. table is $300, with 20-in. consoles at $370, $400, $430, $460. Zenith accents radios, with 3 AC-DC models at $30, $32 & $40, each available in 5 colors. AC clock radios in 6 colors are $40 & $42. Pox’tables are same as before — $40, $60, $61, $124.25. AM-FM tables are $55, $65, $85. Table combination is $100, and AM-FM console combinations are $260, $300, $330, $350. Raytheon’s Belmont is out with 4 new table TVs — 16-in. at $200, 17-in. at $260, 20-in. at $280 & $290 — along with uhf tuner installed at factory for $30, in field $40, and a color adapter costing $15 not installed. At same time, Belmont cut prices of eleven 17 & 20-in. sets in present line by $50 to $120, models now ranging from table at $230 to combination at $750. Prices include tax but not warranty, and slogan of new promotion campaign is “It’s futurized.” Without cutting list prices, DuMont this week reduced by 10-15% px’ices of its TV sets to distributors, extending to entix-e line pxdce cuts announced for 3 models last month. CuxTently purchased goods are guaranteed to Nov. 3 at present distributor price levels. Tele King’s new line comprises 14 models, all 17 & 20-in., featuring “Tele-tuner” for better fringe reception. Px-ices including excise tax range from $180 for 17-in. leatherette table to $420 for 20-in. limed oak console. ♦ * ♦ sjt Elected 1951-52 officers of National Electronic Distributor's Assn, at close of Cleveland convention Sept. 13: Aaron Lippman, Newax-k, chairman; George Wedemeyer, Ann Arbor, Mich., px'esident; W. D. Jenkins, Richmond, first v.p.; Byx'on C. Deadman, Green Bay, Wis., 2nd v.p.; Harry Stark, Minneapolis, secy.; H. E. Ruble, Dayton, treas.