WAITING LISTS FOR SOME TV SETS

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29897, 10 August 1962, Page 10

WAITING LISTS FOR SOME TV SETS

Buyers of television sets have divided themselves into two groups—those who are price conscious and those who ask for the best set, irrespective of priceaccording to leading television retailers. In almost every television shop in Christchurch there are plenty of sets for immediate purchase, but for some sets there may be a wait of up to four weeks.

The manager of one firm which specialises almost entirely in television sets said that he stocked nine types of sets, but for four of them there was a waiting list. In the lower price group, between £l4O and £l5O, two models w*ere particularly popular with those who wanted a set that was within their income. For the sets dearer than £lBO there also was a demand for two models. Those who wanted those sets might have to wait four weeks for delivery.

Sets between £l5O and £l7O were lagging in sales, he said. Other television stores reported the same situation, with waiting lists of between 20 and 30 persons for a particular model. Monthly Allocation The managers of three firms said that the manufacturers had put retailers on a monthly allocation based on sales last year. Thus, the demand for a model that had not sold well last year but now was popular was not being met by the supply from the manufacturers. One large departmental store with extensive arrangements for hire-purchase did not report the same pattern as that of the smaller retail firms: There, it was said, all brands of sets were selling welt with buyers showing no preference in set or price.

Although hire - purchase arrangements were available for the purchase of sets, most buyers preferred to pay cash or a substantial cash deposit, said the managers of two shops. Many persons had said they wanted to buy a set but were waiting until they could put down a large deposit. All those spoken to in the survey agreed that the sale of sets was more regular than it was last year—the wait-and-see attitude had disappeared. Also, they did not expect the sharp fluctuation in sales between the winter and summer that was shown last year. They thought that sales would decrease in the next few months, but they did not expect that the bottom would again fall out of the market.

The rationing of sets has been confirmed by the president of the New Zealand Radio and Television Manufacturers' Association (Mr T. J. Spencer). • He said that from the time of manufacture to the licensing of the set by the purchaser, after the two-week trial period, there was a lapse of about two months. This meant there would be little opportunity for stockpiling, because licensing figures were about the same as production.

Mr Spencer said that, since the first television set was made in 1959, the industry had manufactured 53,668 sets to July 20. Licences for the same period stood at 37,636, so there were more than 16,000 sets in the line between the manufacturer and the licensing of sets.