Sharp Stopped Supplying LCD Panels to Samsung, Promotes Own Brand- Aquos [VIDEO]

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Sharp, the Japanese company, has a subsidiary Hon-Hai a Taiwanese company has announced that they will stop supplying LCD panels to Samsung, the largest manufacturer of LCD TV.

The decision which was announced by Sharp last Friday came as a shock to Samsung top officials. According to Sammobile, Samsung's Future Strategy Official have convened an urgent board meeting to decide the future course of action.

Samsung is now hinting that it will turn towards LG, its compatriot to rescue from this bottleneck situation. However, no official confirmation was received yet from LG.

LG and Samsung have been rivals in many segments, including TV, smartphones, mobiles, Home Appliances and etc.  It is interesting to observe whether LG will help its rival by giving a long rope or dump it.

Samsung and Sharp have a long-standing partnership and Samsung has invested $90 million way back in 2013. But, later Foxconn, the manufacturing arm of Hon-Hai, brought back all the investment from  Samsung. It is remarkable to note that Foxconn is the world's largest manufacturer of electronic components. Its exhaustive client list includes biggies like  Apple, Blackberry, Nokia, Microsoft and etc.

 The reason behind the withdrawal could be either Sharp wants to manufacture and market its own LCD TV. Sharp sees a rise in demand for LCD TV's in Asia and could well market them for profit. Another reason could be that Sharp is demanding a higher price for the LCD panels which Samsung didn't budge for. The final decision could be due to both reasons.

As per Nikkei Asian Review , it is reported that Samsung already purchased 5 million LCD panels in 2015 from Sakai Products, a joint venture between Sharp and Hon Hai. The LCD panels are 40-inch and 60-inch display. This quantity stock accounts for 11% of Samsung's global output. Samsung could meet its demand for a few months with this stock.

Sharp sees an opportunity in LCD TV sales and kept a global target of 10 million under the Aquos brand by 2018. Keep visiting us for more news!