Japanese appliances sales down sharply in China

The market share of Japanese electronic appliances brands is shrinking in China, amid a global decline and the tension over the Diaoyu Islands.

The market share of Sharp Corp's LCD televisions in the Chinese market was 3.4 percent in July, down 1.5 percentage points year-on-year, while Sony Corp's LCD TVs accounted for 2.6 percent, down 1.1 percentage points, according to data from All View Consulting.

In the second week of September, the market share of Japanese color TVs also saw a sharp decline, with Sharp taking up 4.7 percent of the market, Sony 4.4 percent, and Panasonic Corp only 1.1 percent.

The three major appliance makers posted huge losses in the 2011 fiscal year, and they were focusing on China, hoping that the Chinese market could help them turn a profit.

Sharp planned to get revenue of 60 billion yuan ($9.46 billion) this year from the Chinese market, while Sony opened a large store in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province.

Japanese electronic home appliances makers are seeing lackluster results all over the world, not only in China, experts said.

Ten years ago, they dominated the Chinese appliances market, but nowadays domestic and South Korean companies have overtaken them due to the quicker responses to market conditions, comparatively lower prices and comparable quality.

The Japanese government's recent "purchase" of the Diaoyu Islands and the following tension also had a negative impact on the sales of Japanese electronic appliances, analysts said.