• The New York Times, Monday, February 12, 2007 12 PM

On Black Friday last year, Syntax-Brillian of Ontario, Calif., slashed the price of its 32-inch Olevia brand liquid-crystal display TV sets selling at Circuit City to $475--almost half the regular price. While they lasted, the Olevias outsold Sony and other brands and forced the premium brands to lower their prices throughout the holiday season.

The Olevias almost certainly lost money for Syntax-Brillian. But chairman and CEO Vincent F. Sollitto Jr.--a 21-year veteran of I.B.M. who later worked at a succession of other high-tech companies--predicts that Olevia will become a top-tier brand.

Jonathan Dorsheimer, vice president of equity research at Canaccord Adams, says this is "an achievable goal" for the company. He says Syntax has already garnered about 4% of the U.S. market.

The company could increase its share to 7.5% of the U.S. market as it moves into the big stores, says John Vinh, a senior research analyst at C. E. Unterberg Towbin.

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