Vizio CEO William Wang says he can undercut his competition because his overhead is low. The company has about 85 employees, most of whom work in technical support or engineering. Vizio outsources manufacturing to low-cost, for-hire factories in Asia, as many other electronics-makers do. The company plans to spend $35 million on advertising this year — "nowhere close" to its larger rivals' budgets, Wang says.
Vizio also keeps costs low by focusing on lower-end models, says DisplaySearch President Ross Young. A Vizio set isn't likely to have the latest features, most sophisticated signal-processing chips or cutting-edge high-resolution screen, he says.