Dakota PC Warehouse Blog

Forbes.com
By: Russell Flannery
December 24, 2009

Taipei — Vizio, one of the biggest flat-panel TV suppliers in the U.S., is looking to move beyond its niche, and will unveil prototypes of new consumer electronics items at a big trade show in Las Vegas next month, the CEO told Forbes in an interview.

“Eventually, we’ll get into different consumer electronics categories, not just TV,” said William Wang. He predicted shipments of Vizio televisions next year would increase by a third, and expressed optimism about the U.S. economy, something that should be welcome news to its retailing partners including Wal-Mart ( WMT  -  news  -  people  ) (WMT:NYSE) and Target ( TGT -  news  -  people ) (TGT:NYSE) Interview excepts follow:

FORBES: It’s been a great year for Vizio.

WANG: We went from 3.5 million pieces last year to 6 million this year. We did $2 billion (in revenue) last year. We’ll do $2.5 billion this year. I guess the TV is still popular. I don’t want to say it’s recession-proof, but we did pretty well. The only thing is that average selling prices fell 30-35%. That’s pretty steep. But people expect to pay less: that’s electronics.

Q. What’s behind Vizio’s growth?

A. There are three reasons. First, we’re a small company and don’t have any legacy (assets). We have low overhead. Second, our execution is better than others. We’re really fast. We’re focused on value, and value products worked very well this year. Third, we have a 21st century business model. We leverage existing business structures and EMS (electronic manufacturing service companies), versus being vertically integrated and manufacturing ourselves. If you look at some of our Japanese competitors, they’re very integrated, and unfortunately in this age, that’s become a burden. It’s similar to GM and Ford. At the same time, you have a lot IC companies and LCD manufacturers focused on one category and trying to be the best, and we focus our business model with these companies in mind. So we have no redundancy, versus people Sony ( SNE -  news -  people  ) (SNE:NYSE) or Sharp or Hitachi ( HIT -  news  -  people ) (HIT:NYSE). They can’t make up their mind they will do it themselves or outsource.

Source: www.vizio.com

www.dakotapcwarehouse.com

Congratulations to week 16 winner of the Dakota PC Pro-Football Challenge…Jeff Beringer!!

Jeff will receive a $25 gift certificate to Dakota PC Warehouse!

Every week, there will be a $25 gift certificate awarded to each week’s top, total point earner, Second Season points included. Please fill in week 17 picks by noon, central time on Sunday, January 3rd.

Click here to sign up: www.dakotapcwarehouse.com

Don’t worry, if you had a bad week of picks, you’ll have the rest of the regular season to win gift certificates and other great prizes!! Keep up on your picks and good luck!

Stay connected to our Blog, Facebook and Twitter pages daily to find out more on the Dakota PC Second Season and Dakota PC Warehouse news, specials and discussion topics!

• The Second Season Grand Prize of a 55” Vizio High Definition LCD TV with a Cable One, three month subscription will be awarded only if someone reaches 1000 points, out of a possible 1162 points in the Second Season. If nobody gets 1000 points or more, then we will award a 32” Vizio High Definition LCD TV with a K2 mount to the top point earner!

Good luck to all participants and congratulations again to Week 16 winner Jeff Beringer!

Congratulations to week 15 winner of the Dakota PC Pro-Football Challenge…Jim Stein!!

Jim will receive a $25 gift certificate to Dakota PC Warehouse!

Every week, there will be a $25 gift certificate awarded to each week’s top, total point earner, Second Season points included. Please fill in week 16 picks by 6:30pm, central time on Friday, December 25th.

Click here to sign up: www.dakotapcwarehouse.com

Don’t worry, if you had a bad week of picks, you’ll have the rest of the regular season to win gift certificates and other great prizes!! Keep up on your picks and good luck!

Stay connected to our Blog, Facebook and Twitter pages daily to find out more on the Dakota PC Second Season and Dakota PC Warehouse news, specials and discussion topics!

• The Second Season Grand Prize of a 55” Vizio High Definition LCD TV with a Cable One, three month subscription will be awarded only if someone reaches 1000 points, out of a possible 1162 points in the Second Season. If nobody gets 1000 points or more, then we will award a 32” Vizio High Definition LCD TV with a K2 mount to the top point earner!

Good luck to all participants and congratulations again to Week 15 winner Jim Stein!

Southern California Minority Business Development Council, Inc.
December 14, 2009

William Wang had no proven track record when it came to manufacturing televisions.  But that didn’t stop him from starting a company focused on creating high performance flat panels with greater efficiency at a lower cost.  That was seven years ago, and today, his business, VIZIO Inc., puts more LCD HDTVs on the market in the U.S. than any other company.

From the beginning, the Irvine-based, SCMBDC-certified company outsourced manufacturing, undercut brand-name prices, held tight margins, kept overhead low and remained committed to its mission — providing quality products at affordable prices.

“Everyone on the VIZIO team knows we’re here to sell affordability and great quality,” says Wang, company founder and CEO.  “We’re not here to sell a cheap product or have a technology that no one appreciates.  The components we use in our products have to be the best.  We’ve stayed true to our slogan, ‘Where Vision Meets Value,’ since Day 1.”

The company also put a premium on customer service, with about half of its 170 employees in customer service and all of its call centers located in the U.S.  Wang says providing quality service is important since consumers are more educated when it comes to purchasing a TV.

“For me, a happy customer is worth more money than anything else…that’s how we grow.”
- William Wang

“They know what they want in a TV before they enter a store, so the only time consumers need to interact with us is when they have a problem, and unfortunately, electronics can’t be 100% problem-free,” says Wang, who was born in Taiwan and moved to the U.S. when he was 12.  “Therefore, when they need to call us, we have to give them red-carpet service and that’s only available in the U.S.  For me, a happy customer is worth more money than anything else…that’s how we grow.”

Wang launched the company — then known as V — in 2002 after he saw a business opportunity with the U.S. government’s mandated conversion to digital TV.  He knew the HDTV market could grow if he made them affordable compared to established brands, such as Sony and Panasonic.

But the early days of the company were rough.  “When I tried to buy a component from suppliers, I didn’t have the skills of my competitors,” adds Wang, who has a degree in electrical engineering from USC.  “As a start-up, we didn’t come in with millions of dollars; we didn’t have any leverage.  I had to build personal relationships.”

The company received its big break providing consulting services to Gateway Inc. as the computer company started bringing wide-screen, flat-panel televisions to market.  VIZIO helped Gateway launch an affordable HDTV.  With the Gateway contract in hand, suppliers treated Wang differently.

By forming close partnerships with component suppliers, original design manufacturers and retailers, as well as having the right team in place, the brand was able to open the market to millions of Americans and become the #1 HDTV brand four years later.

With revenues of more than $2 billion, VIZIO products are sold at retailers nationwide, including Costco Wholesale, Sam’s Club, Sears, Walmart, Target, and BJ’s Wholesale.  The company says it has TVs in 10 million households.

In 2009, VIZIO, nominated by Walmart, received SCMBDC’s Winner’s Circle award at the Supplier of the Year awards luncheon.  Other honors include the #1 ranking in the Inc. 500 for Top Companies in Computers and Electronics in 2007 and 2008 and Fast Company’s Top 10 Most Innovative CE Companies.  Wang also received Orange County Business Journal’s Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Wang acknowledges good timing was a factor in the company’s success.  When VIZIO started, its competitors weren’t focused on providing affordable electronic products.  Also, the digital television conversion was a godsend.

“Our timing was perfect,” says Wang, adding, “I’ve been an entrepreneur since 1990 and I’ve had good timing and bad.  To be successful, good timing is a must.  If we started the business today with a weak economy, it’d be hard for any start-up to survive.”

Despite the recession, VIZIO is thriving with the company posting 30% growth in sales year over year.  Looking ahead, Wang says VIZIO will expand its products beyond HDTVs and pursue growth opportunities outside the U.S.

“We see ourselves getting bigger…that’s been the dream,” he adds.

Source: Vizio.com

Congratulations to week 14 winner of the Dakota PC Pro-Football Challenge…Ben Stoos!!

Ben will receive a $25 gift certificate to Dakota PC Warehouse!

Every week, there will be a $25 gift certificate awarded to each week’s top, total point earner, Second Season points included. Please fill in week 15 picks by 7:20pm, central time on Thursday, December 17th.

Click here to sign up: www.dakotapcwarehouse.com

Don’t worry, if you had a bad week of picks, you’ll have the rest of the regular season to win gift certificates and other great prizes!! Keep up on your picks and good luck!

Stay connected to our Blog, Facebook and Twitter pages daily to find out more on the Dakota PC Second Season and Dakota PC Warehouse news, specials and discussion topics!

• The Second Season Grand Prize of a 55” Vizio High Definition LCD TV with a Cable One, three month subscription will be awarded only if someone reaches 1000 points, out of a possible 1162 points in the Second Season. If nobody gets 1000 points or more, then we will award a 32” Vizio High Definition LCD TV with a K2 mount to the top point earner!

Good luck to all participants and congratulations again to Week 14 winner Ben Stoos!

Congratulations to week 13 winner of the Dakota PC Pro-Football Challenge…Patrick Foley!!

Patrick will receive a $25 gift certificate to Dakota PC Warehouse!

Every week, there will be a $25 gift certificate awarded to each week’s top, total point earner, Second Season points included. Please fill in week 14 picks by 7:20pm, central time on Thursday, December 10th.

Click here to sign up: www.dakotapcwarehouse.com

Don’t worry, if you had a bad week of picks, you’ll have the rest of the regular season to win gift certificates and other great prizes!! Keep up on your picks and good luck!

Stay connected to our Blog, Facebook and Twitter pages daily to find out more on the Dakota PC Second Season and Dakota PC Warehouse news, specials and discussion topics!

• The Second Season Grand Prize of a 55” Vizio High Definition LCD TV with a Cable One, three month subscription will be awarded only if someone reaches 1000 points, out of a possible 1162 points in the Second Season. If nobody gets 1000 points or more, then we will award a 32” Vizio High Definition LCD TV with a K2 mount to the top point earner!

Good luck to all participants and congratulations again to Week 13 winner Patrick Foley!