Pioneer mulling Kuro brand for more products
updated 03:05 pm EST, Mon March 2, 2009
Pioneer to retain Kuro
Last week, a Pioneer Electronics USA executive talked about the company abandoning the TV market and said it is considering applying its high-end Kuro brand from the high-end discontinued TVs to other products in its range. Andy Parsons, the senior VP of the company's advanced product development and corporate communications, said the company had to give up on selling TVs due to the tough economy, despite plasma displays accounting for a quarter of the company's operating revenue.
“We couldn’t find a point in the future where it would be a viable business that was sustainable economically,” Parsons said. He added the Kuro brand is valuable for the company and an attempt will be made to retain it, though the company is careful about where to apply it.
"We don’t want to lightly throw that brand around,” Parsons said, making sure the products mirror “what the whole Kuro philosophy was about.”
Currently, Kuro is a brand of the flagship plasma TVs from Pioneer, which sport high contrast ratios and image accuracy. The company will continue to distribute TVs throughout 2009 and provide replacement parts and service its TVs for as long as state laws require it, or longer.
Pioneer will turn its focus on car electronics, according to Parsons, but he gave no other specific information. [via TWICE]
