Samsung retains LCD TV leads in Europe

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest maker of TVs, maintained its lead in Europe's major TV markets during the first five months of this year, a market researcher said Tuesday. According to GfK Group, the Korean TV maker accounted for 31.9 percent of Europe's liquid crystal display (LCD) TV market in May. Its market share stood at 30.8 percent in the January-May period. Samsung's hometown rival LG Electronics Inc., the world's No. 2 TV maker, was the second-largest LCD TV supplier in Europe in the month of May, with a 15.9 percent share, followed by Japan-based Sony Corp. Sony, however, nudged past LG in the January-May period with a 15.5 percent share, compared with LG's 14.6 percent. Samsung fared better than its rivals in Europe's large-size LCD TV market, according to data provided by the researcher. Its market share reached nearly 40 percent in May in the high-end, 40-inch and larger LCD TV market in Europe. GfK said Samsung was also dominant in Europe's 3-D TV market with a 50.5 percent share in May. In the five month period, Samsung accounted for 45.4 percent in the region's 3-D TV market, outstripping Sony's 23.8 percent and Panasonic Corp.'s 10.3 percent. LG Electronics, which supplied 8.1 percent of Europe's 3-D TV market in the five month stretch, was the fourth-largest 3-D TV maker in the region, it added.