Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) Acquired By Hong Kong Research Firm Counterpoint

December 14, 2023 by Dave Haynes

Solid research can be a little hard to come by in this industry, especially about software, so it is encouraging to learn that a small and relatively new research group has been acquired by a larger one – with plans to scale up coverage into new product segments and geographies.

Display industry specialist Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), which as the name clearly states covers the state of the display industry supply chain, has been acquired by Hong Kong-based Counterpoint Research, self-described as “a leading global technology industry research firm covering semiconductors, components and manufacturing on the supply side, and smartphones, consumer electronics, PCs, servers, networks, automotive, industrial and other connected end markets on the demand side.”

DSCC was formed in 2016 and pushes out regular, detailed reports, as well as runs excellent but nerdy day-long conferences at display-centric events like SID’s annual Display Week conference and exhibition.

From the announcement:

DSCC has offices in all the key manufacturing centers and markets of East Asia as well as the US and UK. The company has built an excellent reputation among clients, which is reflected in its consistent business performance and attractive growth profile. Leveraging over 25 years of display industry experience of each of its four founders, DSCC will enhance Counterpoint Research’s display research across numerous verticals, helping broaden its market coverage and strengthening its component and supply chain business.

DSCC’s research will scale up further through integration with Counterpoint Research’s end-to-end data and comprehensive methodologies that cover the entire supply chain – from chip fabrication to devices to the end consumer.

Immediate benefits for customers will come from combining Counterpoint Research’s country-level bottom-up sales research with DSCC’s panel shipment and supply chain data, allowing for higher levels of insight and value for clients of both companies.

The acquisition also facilitates Counterpoint Research’s expansion into new product segments and geographies, where DSCC has a strong presence.

“DSCC has a proven track record of delivering accurate and timely analyses in the advanced display market, helping its clients make more informed decisions in what continues to be a rapidly evolving market. The business has seen high growth and profitability during the last five years which, combined with a highly experienced and knowledgeable analyst team, makes it a natural fit for Counterpoint Research. This acquisition will help add more depth to our supply chain research and enhance many end markets we currently cover,” says Tom Kang, Managing Director of Counterpoint Research.

“We see this acquisition as favorable for our clients and those of DSCC, as our combined expertise will deliver even more insights and value. Furthermore, the combination of display supply chain insights coupled with our country-level sales data positions us as one of the best research firms to service the technology industry. This will further accelerate our double-digit growth in revenue and earnings.”

“Counterpoint Research has quickly become the leader in numerous market segments, and access to its sales data will help refine our near-term forecasts, drive innovation and ultimately enhance the content we provide to our clients,” says Ross Young, Co-Founder and CEO of DSCC. “Counterpoint Research’s vast data and insights would add significant value for DSCC’s clients. There are also numerous research segments our combined businesses can add tremendous value to, helping our clients make better decisions.”

Counterpoint’s coverage areas include smartphones, wearables, IoT devices an semiconductors, and a search of the site found all of three references to digital signage. So this would have to be something the combined companies expand into, if they think the market is big enough and there are enough companies out there willing to drop money on fee-based, paywalled reports.

The credible research companies out there like DSCC, Omdia and Futuresource look at the flat panel and LED display markets, but there is no one I am ware of covering digital signage software and the media player ecosystem. There are seemingly daily reports released on digital signage software – all positive and forecasting big growth, and all coming from boiler room research operations in India that produce reports on anything that looks like an industry – from ball bearings and o-rings to shampoos and car wash components.

The DSCC/Counterpoint announcement does not include any details on deal terms.