I did a case study on Vizio televisions this summer. Although they are often perceived as a value brand, and thus associated with lower quality, from what I learned they make a very good product. The CEO of the company has been in the "display" industry for many years. Therefore, he has many connections in the industry. These connections have been a critical success factor for Vizio, and it is what allows for their competitive pricing advantage. You see, where many brands, like Sony, manufacture a majority of the various components in-house, Vizio outsources this function to companies that specialize in making the component or components. Basically, Vizio is the Dell of plasma televisions, in that their main function is branding and marketing (I believe they even outsource the assembly of the televisions). Due to the CEOs connections, he was able to pull all of these different suppliers together and sometimes even offered them a stake in the company, thereby reducing costs even more. It's really a pretty decent company that has faced off against some of the biggest companies in the world with amazing success.
|