Reduce the price of bulb-type LED lighting by half or promote its popularity

The price competition for bulb-type LED lighting has become increasingly fierce. It was Sharp who ignited the fuse. In June 2009, Sharp released a new product that puts the price of the product at about half of the market price. The equivalent of a 40W incandescent lamp is priced at about 3,900 yen, and the equivalent of a 60W incandescent lamp is priced at about 4,000 yen. . "The incandescent lamp has a life of 1,000 hours per 100 yen, so the estimated price of a 40,000-hour LED Bulb is 4,000 yen." (Sharp). To make the price per unit time the same as an incandescent lamp, Sharp cuts the cost of parts and materials for LEDs and power supplies. In line with the principle of “selecting suitable materials, both inside and outside the company”, even Sharp’s LED kits for the core components are purchased externally rather than autonomously.

Improvements in the performance of LED kits have also contributed to cutting costs. Miniaturization and thermal design are easier to implement than ever before, and it is easier to package in a narrow space such as a Light Bulb type. However, after the price has been halved, the cost has not been reduced to a sufficient level of profit. So Sharp's move is to launch a strategic price to gain share in the new market of home LED lighting. As expected, the new product is very popular, in order to ensure that the quantity of goods even delays the time to market.

In order to fight Sharp, competitors have also taken actions. In July 2009, Toshiba Lighting Technology added four types of LED Bulbs that consume 6.9W and 4.1W of power. The overall efficiency of the product is 82lm/W, which is "the highest in the industry" (the company). The 6.9W product is priced at 5460 yen and the 4.1W product is priced at 5250 yen, which is about half of the existing product. The actual market price is below 4,000 yen. Ecorica, which just entered the bulb-type LED market in April of the same year, lowered the price of the product from 7,200 yen to 3,780 yen within three months after its listing. Alice Oyuma also entered the market at a price starting at 3980 yen in mid-June of the same year.

Despite the plight of “cost accounting is very serious” (Toshiba Lighting Technology), companies are still expanding low-price competition, because in this market, the view that the former is king is ingrained. LED lighting, which is expected to have a long lifespan, will not have much need for replacement after its popularity, so excessive competition in the LED lighting market has begun.