TV SETS AT 49 GUINEAS

Press, Volume C, Issue 29488, 14 April 1961, Page 20

TV SETS AT 49 GUINEAS

Prices Cut In Britain (London Correspondent of "The Press") LONDON, April 7 The General Electric Company has announced cuts in the retail prices of its television sets by 13 to 16gns. This means that its standard, specification. 17in table model now costs 49gns instead of 63gns. The company did not comment on the reason for the cuts but they follow reductions by many other makers in recent months in order to diminish the excessive stocks in the stores and factories. The market for sets in Britain is nearing saturation point and the industry is adjusting itself to a replacement market. Further, because most set manufacturers refuse a switch from the 405line screen to the more widely-used 625-line screen, the industry cannot take full advantage of the export market so more output cuts are forecast. According to the “Financial Times,” more than a million sets were held in the shops and factories at the end of last year. Since then, the total has probably dropped by about 100,000. These were mainly from shop stocks and the manufacturers hope that this month’s Budget might ease purchase tax so that a more significant number of sets will move out of the warehouses.

What most commonly determines the sale of household appliances is the amount of the initial deposit on a hire - purchase transaction. The first deposit on rented television sets is lower than the deposit for hire purchase, so the rental services have been making a lot of ground lately. Dealers who have found It difficult to sell even at the lower prices have recently been going into the rental business theemselves, to shift stock.