Optimistic forecasts have for several months predicted the LED lighting market has final come of age.
Sales will top $5 billion by 2012, crows Strategies Unlimited, and growth will amount to 28 percent annually. The LED chips alone could be $1.7 billion business.
The LED lighting market has attracted both Toshiba and Sharp, which will have products in the market by spring
The real proof comes from vendors willing to risk their time and money – and several big dogs have suddenly entered the kennel.
At the Consumer Electronics Show, both Sharp and Toshiba said they would begin selling LED bulbs and lighting in the U.S. market. For both companies, LED lighting serves as a complement to LED television businesses. With production volumes up, prices fall.
Sharp said it plans to launch products in March, though it declined to discuss pricing and other details. Toshiba also targets January shipments to customers and springtime sales to consumers. But while Sharp suggested pricing would be in line with the current market (LED bulbs are expensive), Toshiba indicated a more aggressive approach.
The company sells LEDs in Japan for the equivalent of $35 to $45, a seemingly attractive price if it carries over to the U.S.
“The market is definitely ready,” says Eddie Temistokle, manager of corporate communications.
Both companies suggest the most immediately market will be businesses, which are less price sensitive than consumers because they can save money on energy bills and on the labor costs of bulb replacement. LEDs last longer than other bulbs.
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