Matsushita Manager: To Bundle Blu-Ray Players, PDP TVs In US

[BBlue]

Matsushita Manager: To Bundle Blu-Ray Players, PDP TVs In US

December 10, 2007: 01:12 AM EST

TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (6752.TO) said Monday it would bundle plasma TVs and next-generation DVD players at major U.S. retailers starting next week.

Masayuki Kozuka, a general manager in charge of the company's storage device strategy, told Dow Jones that Matsushita may offer discounts on its Blu-Ray players to customer who buy its plasma TVs.

A company spokesman said the sales promotion would take place at U.S. retailers such as Circuit City Stores Inc. (CC) and Best Buy Co. (BBY).

Kozuka said Matsushita aimed to double its Blu-Ray player share in the U.S. next year. He said the company currently has about a 10% share of all such players sold, not including Sony Corp.'s (6758.TO) PlayStation 3 game console, which is equipped with a Blu-Ray drive.

He said the company planned to introduce two new Blu-Ray players in the U.S. in January, both higher-end models than its current offerings.

He also said the company would look to maintain its Blu-Ray player pricing through the holiday shopping season this year.

-By Jay Alabaster, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-5255-2929; jay.alabaster@ dowjones.com

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