Low-cost TV maker Vizio files for IPO

Budget-oriented TV and consumer electronics manufacturer Vizio has decided to go public this year. The company, which sells through roughly 8,000 retailers, is the largest brand for sound bars and the second-largest HDTV brand in the US. The company is hoping to raise up to $172.5 million in Class A stock.

The California-based company is known for providing relatively low-price entertainment products with higher-end specs, in some ways similar to Xiaomi's strategy with its own electronics. Like Xiaomi, the company accepts low margins for high volume as a tradeoff. The company had sales of $3.1 billion in 2014 with net income of $45 million.

One of the interesting things that came out of the company's S-1 prospectus is the fact that it uses anonymized user data points through its Inscape data service. The data collected consists of viewing data for everything used on the device - including streaming, physical media and traditional TV viewing. This may be one reason why the company is able to offer such low prices, which means sales of the data for customized advertisements may supplement the low profitability of its equipment.

See a comparison table of selected sound bar suppliers on GlobalSources.com