Moxell Re-Emerges as New Proview CE Div.
Moxell Technologies re-emerged as a newly created CE Div. of Proview, seeking to strike distribution agreements with regional retailers with a heavy mix of entry-level LCD, plasma and direct-view TVs, company officials said. The dropping of the Moxell name follows the collapse last fall of a proposed joint venture with Motorola that forced a switch to the Proview and Mag brands for a select number of LCD TVs.
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The Proview CE Div. will draw heavily on its parent’s manufacturing expertise in TV components as well as LCD, plasma and direct-view TV assembly facilities in Brazil and China, said Product Mktg. Vp Michael Amkreutz, who along with Sales Vp Matthew Gorman, is heading the group following the departure of Rick Calacci, who joined Thomson late last year. The Proview CE Div. is counting on access to its parent’s factories to provide an edge as it competes for shelf space with the likes of Maxtent, Norcent, Polaroid, Syntax and Westinghouse, he said. The largest of the plants, in Shenzhen, China, which assembles TVs, will allow Proview to turn around container load purchase orders within 45 days in some cases, Amkreutz said.
Proview also will rely on the support of company- owned service and call centers in Houston and Garden Grove, Cal., that already back the company’s PC-related businesses, including monitors sold under its own and Xerox brands, Amkreutz said.
“We're going to align ourselves strategically with larger regional players rather than dumping product at a larger national chain,” said Amkreutz, noting that Proview products are currently being sold through 16 retailers and 500 storefronts, distribution that’s projected to double by midyear: “We feel that we're better off with regional players because they actually have selling floors and they can support the brand and help us build it.”
At the same time, however, Proview has given its CE division a charter that includes striking a private label supply agreement with a national chain this spring, Amkreutz said. The line will consist of 30”, 27” and 20” LCD TVs as well as a 50W plasma set, he said. The 50W, which will use a Samsung panel, will have 1,280x768 resolution, 1,000 candelas and 3,000:1 contrast ratio. The private label line will be distinguished from the Proview brand by features including the use of component video connectors (one vs. 2 in Proview) and de-interlacing (Faroudja vs. Pixelworks), Amkreutz said. There will be a $100 price difference between Proview and a private label, where, for example, a 27W LCD TV could retail for $1,199, Amkreutz said. The price delta will be the same for Mag brand product that currently includes 20” and 17” LCD TVs, he said.
Seeking to separate itself from the competition, Proview will market 46W plasma TVs using panels sourced from Chunghwa Picture Tubes (CPT). While Vizio also markets a 46W ED panel, Proview will have an exclusive on an HD version with 1,280x768 resolution, 2,000:1 contrast ratio, 1,000 candelas and Faroudja de-interlacing. Proview also will field 50W and 42W HD and ED plasma TVs, the latter priced sub-$2,000, Amkreutz said. In LCD TVs, Proview’s line will stretch from the 14” ($399), 17” ($499) and 20” ($549) models already introduced to include 26”, 27”, 30” and 32” models. The line will include entry-level 26” and 32” models HD monitors priced at $1,299 and $1,499, respectively, and integrated HDTVs, $1,499 and $1,699. The step-up RX line also will include SRS Wow surround sound and be 1080p-capable.
Proview also will field lines of analog 13-32” curved and 20-32” flat-screen direct-view TVs that use CPT’s CRTs and will be assembled at its Manaus, Brazil, plant that has 2 production lines and monthly capacity for 60,000 units. As a result of being able to assemble the sets in Brazil, Proview will hit aggressive prices when the sets ship in the 2nd quarter, including $54-$59 for a 13”. The 20” curved sets ($109) will be priced about $40-$50 below flat-tube models, Amkreutz said. Proview also will field HD-ready 27” and 32” TVs, the former being priced at $349, he said.
Recent decisions by some CE manufacturers to pull back from the analog TV market, will provide Proview with a “good opportunity to add something to the product portfolio that retailers need,” Amkreutz said. “There’s going to be room for CRTs for the next 3-4 years. It’s a commodity business that we can actually squeeze a couple of points of profit out of in high volume.”
As Proview makes an initial full-scale thrust into retail, it has postponed earlier plans for digital video and DVD recorders until 2006, Amkreutz said. It also shelved, for the time being, an agreement to market digital cameras that were to be manufactured for Proview by Taiwan’s Premier Image Technology. The narrower product line will allow Proview focus on the display business before deciding whether to move into other categories, Amkreutz said.