Will Plasma Revive Pioneer?
from business week
It leads in the largest, superbright TVs. But rivals are in the game, too.
For years, Pioneer Corp.'s products have been a staple of road trips worldwide. Its car stereos sound great pumping out everything from Schubert to Snoop Dogg, and the company has a long string of achievements to its name, including the first in-dash CD player and the first satellite-based navigation systems -- which have helped make the company the world's top manufacturer of high-end car stereos. But in the living room, Pioneer hasn't been as successful, struggling to climb out from the shadow of brands such as Sony, Panasonic , and Philips.
Now, Pioneer believes it can prosper with a technology better suited to the den than the dashboard. The company is betting billions on plasma display panels, or PDPs -- superbright TVs thin enough to hang on a wall. After buying out NEC Corp.'s PDP business earlier this year for $341 million, Pioneer is one of only five companies that produce them -- and it's the leading maker of PDP TVs larger than 40 inches, usually used for home theater systems. Since launching its first PDP in 1997, Pioneer has expanded production aggressively to four factories, all located in Japan. Its latest, a $245 million facility in Yamanashi prefecture west of Tokyo, opened in September. "People want bigger and bigger TVs, and that means flat panels," says Pioneer President Kaneo Ito. more...
