Hey I just did a review of the company and of course there is a lot to like. There is a really interesting marketing 101 lesson here in Olivia as a brand name -- now I already know it. so whatever subliminal shit they are doing it's working. And I do think it will be a tier 1 brand very much so. It's a good name it reminds one of the old typewriter which was everyone's most reliable and favorite. Vivitar is cool with the digital cameras another good name. Margins on the TV's are especially fat, made in the US how can you not like that?
There's just that nagging thought that this is the type of company that can be doing everything right and still get clobbered do to stuff out of their control. The consumer pulls in, etc. Parts unavailable... But they seem to have the tech side covered with their Chinese plant... the thing is I took this from $3.50 to $7.50 so I was very much surprised to see it go to $11. The chart looks dangerous to me but this Times article is wildly bullish.
May Hit $14 - New York Times
Posted on Feb 12th, 2007 with stocks: BRLC
In the battle for market share in liquid-crystal TVs many companies have suffered from a massive sharp price drop that saw sets selling for 1/2 their regular prices over the Thanksgiving weekend. New York Times reports that a good part of the drop was fueled by Syntax-Brillian Corp. (BRLC) CEO Vincent F. Sollitto Jr., who dropped prices of its Olevia line to as low as $475 for a 32-inch set in order to get his upstart company noticed. It worked: Olevia recently garnered a Consumer Reports Best Buy rating. Its brand has already grabbed 4% of the U.S. market, making Sollitto's goal of making Olevia a top-tier brand a real possibility. As it moves into big stores, market share could increase to 7.5%. Syntax is the only publicly traded TV company in the U.S.; shares went from $2.02 in May 2006 to as high as $11.70 in January. A glut in flat panels, the TV's main component, has left suppliers running below full capacity, and willing to offer bargains to customers who commit to large orders. But aggressive price reductions by big names like Sony and Sharp may close the gap between first and second tier companies, and the big names say they will move towards higher-priced 46", 52" and 65" models where value brands can't compete. Thursday Sollitto issued a 'conservative' forecast of tripling revenue in 2007, and shares dropped 15%. John Vinh of C. E. Unterberg Towbin brushes off the price drop, and forecasts shares will go to $14.
Still what is it about this biz that makes it so tough.
I took a bath on Spatalight HDTV (how bout that symbol) I made some dough on Microtune but then went back to the well and got smoked. AUO I owned forever $9 to $14 and back again... I just don't know if I can do it again. This Xmas was supposed to really suck so those numbers are going to be soft but with the big discounts unit sales should be good-- they did boot the revenue last time.
It's really a classic marketing story and a good one when you take all the metrics and up the prices to Tier1 set level-- well then it's going to be a cash cow, but for now being the low cost guy is the way to go as people come to respect the brandname and the sets quality they are apt to buy their next one some years down the line. The question with the stock is when to own it. I'm not sure I have the answer. I see this as a $9 stock now like Zenith was in the old
days and as they get in new doors and their market share keeps advancing it should advance to that NY times price of $14. But does it scare the crap out of you and go to $5.75 first??????