A Big Risk for a Big Payoff

Steven   Strauss  March 1, 2010

It’s the hope of many an entrepreneur: Get your product not only into one of the big-box stores, but into the epitome of the big-box store, Costco. The murmurs of the crowd begin. “If we could get our stuff in Costco,” they dream, “just about everything would be well in the world.”

Meet William Wang, the slayer of Costco, the titan of TV, the visionary of Vizio. His company is the maker of what has become one of Costco’s most popular products: flat-screen televisions. That alone is a remarkable feat when you consider that not only is his company less than a decade old, but televisions were barely even on Costco’s radar when they started selling Vizio TVs in 2003.

William Wang single-handedly created a whole-new profit center for Costco.

But his story is far more interesting, and bigger, than merely transforming a big-box store. Vizio has gained an amazing foothold in the country and world at large. It is now the No. 1 seller of high-definition televisions in the United States. Consider these other milestones:

• Vizio was named Good Housekeeping’s Best Big-Screen.
• Vizio won the No. 1 ranking in the Inc. 500 for top 100 computers and electronics companies for the second consecutive year.
• Vizio was named one of Advertising Age’s Hottest Brands.

So, how do you become, arguably, the world leader in the white-hot fl at-screen market in less than a decade? You see an opportunity—and then drive a truck through it.

Back in the mid ’90s, Congress began discussing a mandate that would force all television makers to convert sets from analogue to digital by the end of the decade. “At the time,” Wang says, “most digital televisions were going for around $8,000, so what I saw was a great opportunity: a legal mandate and a wide-open market for more affordable televisions to fi t that mandate.”

Wang had already been successful in the consumer electronics field, creating a successful line of monitors, which he sold at, you bet, Costco. With the congressional mandate coming into effect, and that corresponding huge opportunity approaching, Wang launched V Inc. in 2002 (later renamed Vizio).

It was a fairly audacious move. “Remember,” Wang explains, “there had been no new big player in the consumer electronics field in a long time. The players were old-school companies, like Sony, Sharp, Zenith and Panasonic.” It was, he says, “a crazy idea!” Crazy like a fox.

“I knew we could build a television cheaper, and since I already had a good working relationship and track record with Costco, I decided to pitch them the idea of working together.” Wang adds that the key was that “Costco is a great brand that offers quality goods at a reasonable price, so that is what I knew we had to create.”

So he did. Thus, shortly before the 2003 Christmas season, Costco stocked the shelves and tested a new product, a 46-inch fl at-screen TV made by a company no one had ever heard of, and that sold for a price less than half of where most competitors priced their fl at-screen TVs.

Three short months and $6 million in revenue later, the test was an overwhelming success. Costco sales records continued to be shattered by Vizio in the coming months and years, to the point where fl at-screen televisions are now one of Costco’s biggest sellers.

So was it just a great idea at a good price? Wang says the answer is a resounding no. Like his partner Costco (where you can seemingly return anything at almost any time), Wang’s business philosophy is equally dependent on two words we all hear so much about, but that actually mean something to him: customer satisfaction.

“That is our focus, our main focus,” he says. Wang explains that great customer service and satisfaction require great teamwork. To be successful, you need to team with your employees, customers, distributors, everybody. “In a sense, they are all our customers. Costco is our customer, Costco’s customers are our customers, and so on, so our job is to make everyone happy—to make Costco successful. That requires great teamwork.”

Great customer service requires a few specific actions, Wang says:

• “First, you must learn about your customers—what they like and dislike. The customer is always first.”
• “Maybe, more important, you have to listen to your customers. Do not force it. Don’t just listen to your own business philosophies, but hear the philosophies of your customers.”
• “You simply must take customer satisfaction seriously. That means not being too greedy. We take profits and pump them back into the televisions, back into the company, to make it even better for our customers.”

Given all of the above, it should not be surprising that, for Wang, the key to business success is to “give the customer more than they expect.”

Almost all entrepreneurs mention the importance of customer service. But Wang is one who actually took that idea to its logical conclusion: Customers are not just the end-users of your product or service. Instead, that word encompasses everyone dependent on your success—your suppliers, employees, even your shareholders.

So consider taking a page out of the William Wang success playbook. Expand your vision of just who constitutes your customer, and you, too, may conquer the world, one big-box store at a time.

Source: www.successmagazine.com

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by Mark Hachman

Vizio almost doubled its LCD TV sales output last year, making the once second-tier vendor the top U.S. LCD TV manufacturer for all of 2009, according to a new report released Monday.

According to iSuppli, Vizio catapulted past higher-profile names like Toshiba, Sony and Samsung, selling 5.92 million units throughout all of 2009. That represented a 92.1 percent increase in sales versus 2008, and gave the upstart LCD maker 18.7 percent of the U.S. LCD market, a full percentage point over Samsung, the previous market leader.

Vizio sold 1.84 million LCD TVs during the fourth quarter, a 49.4 percent increase over 2008. Samsung sold 1.715 million, a 29.7 percent jump; Sony sold 1.318 million, representing a 115.6 percent increase. Toshiba and LG finished fourth and fifth.

“Vizio continues to benefit from its strong brand recognition among U.S. consumers,” said Riddhi Patel, director, television systems and retail services for iSuppli, in a statement. “The company already has established itself as the price leader in LCD-TVs. The company played to this strength in 2009 by offering attractive promotions to consumers. Furthermore, Vizio moved to make its LCD-TV products more competitive with premium brands, adding higher-end features such as LED backlights and Internet connectivity.”

Critically, the Vizio TVs delivered as well. PCMag.com found that while the design was not the most aesthetically pleasing, the 55-inch Vizio VF551XVT panel’s specs delivered. The Vizio VF550XVT and Vizio VP505XVT, both also manufactured during 2009, also redefined “bang for the buck”. Vizio has also laid out an aggressive road map for 2010, including a push into the mobile TV market.

Although most LCD TV vendors grew share during 2009, others fell behind. Behind Samsung came Sony, which saw a 1.0 percent sales dip to 3.68 million units. Sony’s market share fell sharply, from 15.2 percent in 2008 to 11.6 percent in 2009. Toshiba also demonstrated outstanding growth, growing 81.7 percent to 2.394 million units, or 7.6 percent of the U.S. market. Toshiba finished 2009 in a virtual tie fourth place with LG Electronics. Sharp finished sixth, with 5.0 percent market share.

However, Samsung could take some solace in the fact that the company remained the top vendors of flat-panel televisions, which includes both LCD and plasma displays. Samsung sold 6.6 million units in 2009, up 22.6 percent from 5.4 million units in 2008, and ended 2009 with a market-leading 18.4 percent market share. Vizion finished second, at 16.8 percent, followed by Sony, Toshiba, and LG.

In LCDs, Samsung also recorded a significant 22.6 percent increase in unit sales compared to 2008, with 5.608 million sold. However, the Korean giant could not keep up with Vizio, according to iSuppli.

Source: www.pcmag.com

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VIZIO Exclusive HD Sponsor of the CBS Super Bowl Pre-Game Show

IRVINE, Calif. – JANUARY 28, 2010 – VIZIO, America’s #1 LCD HDTV Company, announced today that Beyoncé Knowles-Carter will make her debut as its spokesperson with a starring role in the company’s Super Bowl spot airing during CBS’s in-game coverage of Super Bowl XLIV. VIZIO’s game day presence will also include the exclusive HD Sponsorship of the CBS Super Bowl Pre-Game Show entitled “The Super Bowl Today Presented by VIZIO.”

VIZIO’s 60-second spot will air in the fourth quarter of the game. Details of the spot are not being released, but the spot is the creative vision of Venables, Bell & Partners of San Francisco.  The spot was directed by three-time Academy Award nominee for cinematography, Wally Pfister who is best known for his work on “The Dark Knight,” and “Batman Begins.”

“Our new partnership with Beyoncé along with this substantial presence during CBS’s Super Bowl broadcast, demonstrate that VIZIO isn’t about to take its foot off the throttle,” said Laynie Newsome, VIZIO Co-Founder and V.P. Sales & Marketing.  “We may be the #1 LCD HDTV company in America, but we continue to operate with the same passion and ‘challenger-mindset’ that has always driven us.”

VIZIO will also have opening and closing billboards as well as two additional 30-second spots that will air during the CBS pre-game show.  There will be VIZIO branding on the set and broadcast desk as well as VIZIO HDTVs incorporated into the set design and providing background visuals.   This is the second year VIZIO has had a presence during the Super Bowl broadcast.

About VIZIO
VIZIO, Inc., “Where Vision Meets Value,” headquartered in Irvine, California, is America’s HDTV and Consumer Electronics Company. In 2007, VIZIO skyrocketed to the top by becoming the #1 selling brand of flat panel HDTVs in North America and became the first American brand in over a decade to lead major categories in U.S. TV sales. Since 2007 VIZIO HDTV shipments remain in the TOP ranks in the U.S. and were again #1 in Q1, 2009 with over 20% market share.  VIZIO is committed to bringing feature-rich flat panel televisions to market at a value through practical innovation. VIZIO offers a broad range of award winning LCD HDTVs including the new XVT series. VIZIO’s products are found at Costco Wholesale, Sam’s Club, Sears, Walmart, Target, BJ’s Wholesale, and other retailers nationwide along with authorized online partners. VIZIO has won numerous awards including a #1 ranking in the Inc. 500 for Top Companies in Computers and Electronics, Good Housekeeping’s Best Big-Screens, CNET’s Top 10 Holiday Gifts and PC World’s Best Buy among others. For more information, please call 888-VIZIOCE or visit on the web at www.VIZIO.com.

The V, VIZIO, TruLED, Extreme VIZIO Technology XVT, VIZIO Internet Apps, 480HZ SPS, 240Hz SPS, Thin Line, Smooth Motion, Razor LED, Smart Dimming, Where Vision Meets Value names, phrase and symbols are trademarks or registered trademarks of VIZIO, Inc. All other trademarks may be the property of their respective holders.

Source: VIZIO, Inc.

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