An era has ended.  In Q3 2011, Samsung sold more monitors than any other vendor in the Canadian market, ending a long sequence of 26 consecutive quarters during which Acer had been the leader.  Samsung is a vendor with many strong qualities.  It is one of the leading manufacturers of glass panels that the monitors are manufactured from.  Its brand is highly respected among consumers.  Its products are broadly available in both the commercial and consumer channels.

Exhibit 1: Total (LED and LCD) Display Market Leaders: Q3 2011

The principal reason why Samsung has not led in the market in recent years in terms of units sold is that Samsung has traditionally focused on the wider, more expensive devices choosing to leave the high volume, low-end segments to other vendors.  If Samsung chooses to make more of an effort with the narrower categories, it could retain its lead for some time.

Exhibit 2: Total Monitor Shipments (All LCD and LED Units) by Quarter:  Q1 10 – Q4 11

* Q4 2011 Forecasted

Total shipments during Q3 2011 were 22% less than a year-ago in Q2 2011.  This is somewhat of a disappointment.  On a positive note, the process of converting from LCD to LED technology is advancing rapidly.

The market is very rapidly converting to LED technology.  During Q3 2011, 43% of all monitors sold in Canada had LED backlighting.  In Q4 2011, roughly 65% of the units sold will have LED backlighting.

Exhibit 3: Total LCD/LED Shipments Q1 2011 to Q4 2011 (Thousands)*

*Q4 2011 Forecasted

 Samsung led the LCD subcategory during Q3 2011 by a wide margin.  It was because of the success of its LCD portfolio, that Samsung was able to lead the overall market

Exhibit 4: LCD Display Market Leaders: Q3 2011

 Acer is still a force to be reckoned with.  During Q3 2011, Acer sold more LED Displays than any other vendor in the market.  If Acer can maintain its dominance in the LED segment, it could soon find itself in top spot again in the overall market.  

Exhibit 5: LED Display Market Leaders: Q3 2011

.