Todays Insight Media on BRLC
Syntax-Brillian On the Move - With a Little Help
from Kolin
by Steve Sechrist
July 12, 2006
US-based Syntax-Brillian is on a roll. Brillian, once a
single-product, LCOS-based MD-TV maker looks to have reinvented
itself through a series of joint ventures and mergers. As a result,
it is moving from obscurity to become a major player in the highly
competitive, world-wide consumer electronics space.
In November of 2005, the company entered into a synergistic merger
with Syntax Group, owner of the popular Olevia brand LCD-TV. By the
end of that quarter the company leveraged key Taiwan and Chinese
relationships for both microdisplay light-engine and LCD-TV
assembly; expanded distribution to three new retailers and
integrated its 1080p LCOS MD-TV into existing Olevia brand
channels. It collaborated with Taiwan-based Kolin to develop a
65-inch Kolin-branded LCOS MDTV for the Chinese and Taiwan markets,
and it reported earnings of +1M in new LCOS microdisplay orders in
a 10K-unit light-engine deal.
By jumping on the flat-panel band wagon when it did, the Syntax
side of the business established the Olevia brand as a "Top 10
Seller" (ranked Number 8) among LCD-TVs during the highly
competitive 2005 holiday shopping season, getting its sales
primarily through lower-cost retail and warehouse outlets.
Since then the company has announced a joint venture with Henan
Costar Group, a state-owned Chinese enterprise, to manufacture
Brillian LCOS-based light engines, giving the company a volume
source for US distribution and, more importantly,
"state-sanctioned" access to the Chinese market. To help soak up
panels, Syntax-Brillian announced it will supply Headplay Inc. with
LCOS-based light-engine parts for Headplay's next-generation
personal headsets for the consumer electronics market.
The company also announced a JV with the Brazilian family-owned
business conglomerate Group Senna, a household name in the region.
The JV, named "Olevia Senna do Brasil," will manufacture, market
and support the full line of Syntax-Brillian's Olevia LCD-TVs 20
inches and greater, customized for the Brazilian and Latin American
markets.
Think of it. In less than seven months, Brillian has moved from
being an obscure single-play MD-TV engine and projector
manufacturer to a CE powerhouse - but that's not the full story.
Through the merger with Syntax Group, parent Kolin of Taiwan holds
the controlling stake in Brillian, and through that deal was able
to fill five out of the nine seats on the new board of directors.
All this movement, particularly in China, is due in no small way to
the Kolin connection.
After the merger, Kolin moved quickly into key markets and
established critical JV relationships to secure low-cost
light-engine, MD-TV, and LCD-TV manufacturing on a global scale,
while bolstering the Olevia brand in the West and the Kolin brand
in Asia.
In essence, Syntax-Brillian has become the US marketing arm of
Taiwan-based Kolin and represents, perhaps, the face of the new
millennium in consumer electronics corporations. Syntax-Brillian is
demonstrating what it takes for a lesser-known brand to gain a
foothold against the likes of Sony, Sharp, and Matsushita in the
global CE space.