Who Makes Vizio TVs and Where Are They Manufactured?
▼ Summary
– Vizio, founded in 2002, is a major TV brand known for its primary strategy of offering TVs at lower prices than competitors.
– The company’s low-price strategy was successful, leading to shipping over a million units per quarter within a decade of its founding.
– In 2025, Vizio is ranked as one of the best TV brands by consumers and its models are recommended as some of the best cheap smart TVs.
– A key factor in Vizio’s success is its optimized manufacturing approach, handling design in-house while outsourcing production to third parties.
– This outsourcing strategy, using original device manufacturers (ODMs), was unconventional when adopted, as most companies handled all aspects from design to manufacturing.
Vizio has established itself as a prominent and affordable television brand in the American market. The company’s rise to prominence is largely attributed to its aggressive pricing strategy, which undercuts major competitors like Samsung and LG. Founded in California in 2002, Vizio quickly gained traction by focusing on value, shipping over a million units per quarter within its first decade. This approach continues to define the brand, with its models frequently recommended as top choices for budget-conscious shoppers seeking reliable smart TVs.
A key element enabling these competitive prices is Vizio’s streamlined operational model. Unlike traditional manufacturers that oversee the entire production chain, Vizio adopts a different tactic. The company handles design and software development internally but outsources the physical manufacturing to third-party partners. This structure allows Vizio to minimize overhead and capital investment, passing the savings directly to consumers. Industry analysts have noted this was an innovative approach when Vizio pioneered it, as most electronics firms at the time maintained full control over design, assembly, and marketing.
This leads to the natural question: if Vizio doesn’t operate its own factories, who actually builds the televisions? The production is entrusted to original design manufacturers (ODMs). These are specialized firms that manufacture products based on another company’s specifications. For Vizio, this means contracting with large ODMs, primarily based in Asia, which possess the scale and expertise to produce high volumes of TVs efficiently. The specific manufacturing partners have varied over the years, often including major electronics manufacturing service providers with facilities in countries like Mexico, China, and other regions with robust supply chains.
This global manufacturing network is crucial for maintaining low costs. By leveraging the established infrastructure and labor markets of its ODM partners, Vizio avoids the enormous expense of building and running its own plants. The company can then focus its resources on areas like research and development, marketing, and its SmartCast platform. This strategic focus on software and user experience, combined with cost-effective hardware production, has solidified Vizio’s position. It successfully competes with other value brands like Hisense and TCL while consistently earning high marks in customer satisfaction surveys for delivering quality at an accessible price point.
(Source: BGR)
