www.stadiaworld.com 5 DIGITAL DISPLAYS challenge in view of the comparatively small areas required in sports installations and rental applications.Thus the best approach is often to adopt group buying, whereby for example a company can purchase enough to supply one of its major projects, and sell on the remainder to strategic purchasing partners at accordingly lower prices. WHO IS WHO? For the end customer, which company makes the product is not of crucial importance, as long as experts in the field with specific know-how recommend it for this application and guarantee its suitability. It is always possible and common to the market that production batches can differ with regard to various specifications; it is also possible and in no way a negative factor that identical modules are sold under different brand and manufacturer names. Some of these product configurations are the result of strategic partnerships. Because the manufacturers generally confine themselves to producing the LED modules, a lot of requirements have to be met on the journey to the video wall, video cube or ribbon display end product and to finally putting it into operation. These can sometimes be clearly defined with the help of specialised partners or acquisitions and implemented to suit the customer. This is how the German company Ledcon develops, produces and installs in collaboration with the Chinese global player Unilumin. ROE is also part of the Unilumin Group. NEC Display Solutions Europe on the other hand, a subsidiary of the global company NEC with its origins in Japan, took over the German system integrator and LED manufacturer S[quadrat] as of 01/04/2018. In this way both companies can enhance their market position and expand their product portfolio. In Germany in particular, where installation of the second generation of video walls has gradually been underway since the stadiums were opened in the 2000s, it can be seen that although major corporations characterised by consumer orientation carried out the initial installations, they are not making their presence felt during the renewal of the existing equipment. Philips, Mitsubishi, Toshiba, Panasonic – brands such as these only still seem to be involved, at least this is the current impression, in the case of lighthouse projects which can highlight the brand as a whole. At Philips the product line seems to have slipped through the net during restructuring of the group, while LED lighting has a prominent place (now independently marketed as Signify). The low order volume in a niche market, along with the price structure and the very special pattern of the industry environment means that medium-sized companies and even individuals in key positions can take advantage of their strengths, while the major players of the electronics industry hold themselves back. SPORTS FACILITIES: A SPECIAL AREA The sports sector differs little from other areas of application for LED displays in terms of technology, but more in the sales process, because the contact people are in a different environment,and other practices prevail. In new construction proPicture: STADIAWORLD
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