Samsung and Sony attempt to enforce their prices at retailers

A Wall Street Journal article (May 23, 2012) describes a move by Samsung and Sony to force retailers to sell at manufacturer recommended prices or risk consequences. These might include loss of financing to market new products or restricted supply. Such price restrictions have been declared to be legal by the US Supreme Court. But LG, Panasonic and Sharp do not plan to have such restrictions. Some retailers have requested unique products to prevent consumer shopping at stores followed by ecommerce shopping. All of this is in response to the 15 % price drops for TVs between 2009 and 2012. Will the moves by Sony and Samsung hurt the manufacturers and retailers or help them retain share ? Will the lack of participation by the other manufacturers disrupt the system ? Is it in the retailer’s interest to comply or break away when the holiday season demand is at its peak ? Are potential retailer penalties credible or will they just involve the manufacturers shooting themselves in the foot ?

1 Response to Samsung and Sony attempt to enforce their prices at retailers

Kyle Harshbarger (@KyleHarshbarger) says:

May 24, 2012 at 5:18 pm

I like how you have this article followed by one about a Chinese company opening a factory in Detroit. Sony and Samsung want to de-commoditize televisions… good luck! They’ll likely end up in a cloud of dust. Here are some things they could do instead of fighting the market:
1) Work on making OLED televisions economically viable
2) Who wants a 1″ thick TV?
3) Who wants a TV with no border/frame?

Differentiate your product instead of playing games with the marketplace.