Today the Japanese company Sanyo has announced
that it plans to more than double its output capacity of optical readers
used in DVD recorders, this year and next year. Sanyo will boost the annual
output capacity of DVD recorder pickups to 35 million units next business year,
which start this April, compared to 15 million units this business
year.
|  Sanyo, the world's largest maker of
optical pickups with a global market share of about 40 percent, is hoping
to use its strength in key electronic components to secure an even bigger
share of the booming market for consumer digital goods.
Kuwano said
last week the firm would start selling DVD recorders later this year,
entering a market in which larger rivals such as Matsushita Electric
Industrial Co and Sony Corp are in fierce competition. It plans to
enter the U.S. market first and Kuwano said it was in talks with Wal-Mart
Stores Inc about placing Sanyo-branded DVD recorders at the retailing
giant's outlets.
Analysts say
an own-branded DVD recorder is a natural evolution for Sanyo since it
holds such a strong position in optical pickups. It expects sales of
pickups to rise 28 percent to 148 billion yen ($ 1.39 billion) in 2003/04.
The company
plans to boost its production capacity of all optical pickups, a key
component in CD and DVD recorders and players, to 250 million units in
2004/05 after making an estimated 200 million units this business
year. |
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Source: Reuters.com
