Colour TV to cost more soon

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33929, 23 August 1975, Page 3

Colour TV to cost more soon

(New Zealand Press Association) HAMILTON, August 22. Two colour television manufacturers will increase prices by between $l2O and about $l5O in the next month as a result of devaluation and most other manufacturers consider price rises “inevitable.”

Neither Thorn nor A.W.A. have received approval for i their increases but this is : expected from the Trade and | Industries Department next week. Thorn’s managing director (Mr C. G. Martin) expected : all other brands to increase in price by a similar' amount. The imported colour 1 tube represented between 30 and 40 per cent of the cost of the set, and this and'! other components were! affected by the Government’s 15 per cent devalua- i tion, he said. Both Atlas-Majestic and Bell increased the prices of , their sets by about $6O at the end of June. The managing director of Atlas-Majestic (Mr C. A. Pearson) said that his company had taken part of the increased price last month and 'would be taking the rest of it very soon. I Because of lower overhead, i costs per set, the present prices would keep pace with i inflation, unless there was a ■ substantial wage rise which !could not be absorbed, he isaid. Sanyo, Philips and Pye j have no price increases in 'mind “at this stage.”

Increased prices in coloui sets are expected to put rental fees up by about $L per month. A spokesman for Amalga mated Tele-Hire said nego tiations on price rises were still proceeding and these would be governed by the increased prices the manufacturers would charge. He felt that the present rental fee of about $26 to 1527 was high enough, and $2 would be sufficient to covet the extra costs passed on to the rental firms. All manufacturers were working to capacity, and the demand still exceeded supply.