December 30th, 2012 admin
Comments by Projector Reviews staff:
Pacific Media Associates provides us with regular updates on industry (projector) trends. They break out projectors in multiple categories such as Pico and Pocket projectors (they are now calling them “New Era” projectors, Mainstream, and High End (mostly larger fixed/install projectors and rental and staging models).
PMA itself has been polling the dealer base for a long time. For many years my old company Presenting Solutions would report every projector sale we made to them each month – breaking it out by model, quantity, etc. The’ve been polling the largest dealers for well more than a decade, providing a real pulse on the shape, and direction of the projector industry – both business/education/government, and home.
BTW, it shouldn’t surprise anyone but the home projector segment is tiny compared to the rest of the projector industry. As you look at the numbers in the press release below, notices that each of the categories numbers are pulled from different sources, some data is from distributors, some from dealers, some from integrators. With that in mind, please realize that the biggest strength of the data is PMA’s consistent polling. It’s great for comparing month to month or year over year.
But, when it comes to picking the best selling projector models, keep in mind that each set of numbers is servicing primarily one distribution channel, not all.
Thus, it may well be that strong showings for one or more products in one channel doesn’t mean the same projector is strong in other channels. As an example, look at the Mainstream category numbers: You see that NEC and InFocus dominate in the number of units via Distributors. Both manufacturers rely heavily upon distributors for moving the product through. By comparison, some other companies, let’s say Panasonic and Epson to pick two, rely more on direct sales to the largest dealers, and far less on distributors. Thus, it is conceivably possible that both of those companies could have a projector that outsell any of the top 5 listed, simply because that report does not track units sold directly to large dealers. For example the dealers that advertise on our site, almost all buy directly from the likes of Epson and Panasonic, not through distribution…
In other words, keep an open mind. That notwithstanding, there’s plenty of useful data to mine from PMA’s numbers. There are several research companies “competing” against PMA. Between all of them, you can paint a really excellent picture of the industry, but since each uses different methodology, and even define their categories differently, you do need to put on your thinking cap if you are looking for more than a basic feel for the projector industry sales. -art
Press Release
PMA Announces Top-Selling Projector Models During November
Monthly Tracking Reports Show Optoma, NEC, InFocus and Epson Most Popular Across New Era, Mainstream and High-End Categories
Menlo Park, California, USA – December 28, 2012. Pacific Media Associates (PMA), the worldwide market information experts on front projectors, has posted their recent results to the “Top Selling Projectors” area of their website. Read the rest of this entry »
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