Be kind, rewind no more: Final VCR manufactured

Global Business

Products are being replaced at a fast pace, as consumer demand changes. VCRs are one such product, as the last of its production ended this year.

CCTV’s Terrence Terashima reports from Tokyo.

Funai Electric originally started with its own format called the CVC, but after other manufacturers unified to VHS, it produced various VHS Recorder since 1983.

At its peak, Funai Electric had 70 percent share in the US market, including OEM production. Production hit 60,000 VCRs a day.

However, the annual sales of 1.5 million had declined 750,000 by 2015, as demand for other products increased.

But Funai Electric continued its VCR production despite other major manufacturers stopped their production.

“It involves a very high skill and difficult technology to produce VCRs. We saw a continued high demand for VCRs even after we started our production of DVDs in 1999. We wanted to continue utilize our technology in VCR production,” Shigeki Saji, general manager of Digital Media BU of Funai Electric Co., LTD said.

However, the demand continued to decline and the company decided to stop its production.

Funai Electric said they were producing 4,000 resolution television and Blu Ray decks and eyeing to increase its share in the US market.