Panasonic Corp. is aggressively promoting television sales in Thailand with the launch of new ultra-high-definition 4K models featuring screens 55 inches and larger amid the growing popularity of such premium products in the country.
Its local sales unit, Panasonic Siew Sales (Thailand) Co., said it has scheduled the launch of 20 models between July and August to achieve a sales target of 4.5 billion baht ($138 million) in the business year to March 2019, up 76 percent from the previous year.
Of the 20 models, drawn from a total of 11 series, 14 models are 4K, while models 55 inches and larger make up a majority of the sets, the local arm said. Premium models carry price tags of up to 125,990 baht ($3,870).
"We will increase our product lineup of 4K and large-sized models because their sales are growing in Thailand," Takashi Sasaki, director of the local unit's consumer and corporate planning divisions, said at a recent launch event in Bangkok.
The Osaka-based electronics giant's Thai unit aims to boost its TV market share in the Southeast Asian country to 15 percent in fiscal 2018, up from 9 percent the previous business year.
Panasonic is ranked third in the market, after South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc., industry officials said.
The Thai TV market is projected to grow 5 percent from a year earlier to 29.7 billion baht this year, Panasonic said, based on numbers from German research firm GfK.
The ratio of 55-inch models in the overall market is expected to rise to 23.2 percent this year to become the largest category by screen size, closely followed by 40- to 43-inch models at 23 percent.
GfK also forecasts that 4K models will account for 55 percent of the Thai TV market this year, topping non-4K sets for the first time.