i3 - May/June 2019 - 45

By Steve Smith

Business

R E TA I L ST R AT EG I E S

NATM Emphasizes Premium TVs

 J 

Kyodo News via Getty Images

erry Satoren, executive
director of the NATM
Buying Corporation,
describes his group consisting
of "Twelve healthy independent retailers - some in business from 80 to 100 years
- that change with the times.
It is gratifying to see them
face challenge after challenge
and continue to succeed."

Times are good for NATM members, a
$6.3 billion national retail buying group
representing a dozen of the largest independent regional retailers which sell
consumer technology, major appliances
and home furnishings.
Televisions, especially premium TVs, are
a key NATM category since its founding in
1970. Satoren, an industry veteran who
began his career at Thomson Consumer
Electronics working with RCA and
Toshiba, knows the business intimately and
recently discussed 2019 prospects in TV.
Satoren says 4K TVs have been selling
well for the group. "We are premium sellers and our growth has been coming
from early adopters," with both sales volume and profits increasing. Years ago,
that was not the case in TVs, with NATM
C TA . t e c h / i 3

members competing heavily back in the
1980s, 1990s and even the 2000s, when
the mass market commodity TV business generated volume but little profit.

Enter 4K TV

Satoren and NATM have seen an "interesting transition" since the end of last year,
with 4K TVs entering the mass market.
Second- and third-tier TV makers have
moved into the 4K business emphasizing
price and are gaining market share.
The challenge for NATM, and independents that sell premium TVs, is to
sell the benefits of larger 4K TVs while
maintaining profitability. With
NATM's premium selection, informed
sales people in their stores and support
from key suppliers, he expects the
group to generate solid, profitable
growth in 4K this year, with an emphasis on larger screen sizes.
Satoren says, "In 2019, screen size
creep is our friend. We would like to see
sales growth in 75-inch and above 4K
TVs. Sales doubled last year in units for
those screen sizes. That brings dollars
up and we hope that trend continues."

Looking Ahead at 8K

As for 8K TVs - one of the stars of CES
2019 - Satoren says the new upscale
sets will play a small role this year.

"We have expensive 8K TVs for early
adopters, and folks with lots of disposal
income will buy 8K sets and they will
have higher dollars and good profit
margins." But in sales volume it "won't
move the needle due to pricing."
He acknowledges some negatives of
introducing 8K now. He says, "Some
say it is too soon, it creates confusion,
there is no content and may keep consumers on the sidelines."
But Satoren adds, "It's a good thing
our industry is bringing in 8K, because
it shows consumers there is 'the next big
thing in TV.' It also shows the industry
has the technology to continue to make
TVs an aspirational purchase and have
consumers consider a step-up purchase
and not stay on the sidelines."
While 8K TVs won't be a major sales
volume item for the industry this year,
Satoren says that for NATM members,
"We still have customers who are willing
to spend $2,000 or more on a largescreen premium TV, which is also good
for suppliers of fully-featured and
upscale 4K and 8K TVs."
For more on NATM's Jerry Satoren on
consumer technology retail trends, visit
CTA.tech/i3.
Steve Smith is the former editor-in-chief
of TWICE.
MAY/JUNE 2019

45
https://CTA.tech/i3 https://CTA.tech/i3
i3 - May/June 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of i3 - May/June 2019
