January 17, 2008

Battle Of The Brands: LG Looks To Design To Bump Up Sales

LG Electronics believes that great HDTV picture quality doesn't cut it anymore. With all of the top HDTV manufacturers boasting excellent picture quality, the South Korean company feels the way to differentiate their product line in 2008 isn't through semiconductors, but through design.

"In the TV market, design will be a critical differentiator this year," says Simon Kang, president in charge of LG's digital display unit.

LG's flat panel releases at CES were eye-catching and part of the company's strategy to up flat-panel sales from 9 million in 2007 to 17 million in 2008, and grab a place among the top 3 manufacturers. By the end of 2007, they sat in 4th place, with only half the market share of top manufacturer Samsung. Big goals, but some analysts say that LG has unrealistic expectations.

"LG doesn't have [the] brand clout of its Japanese rivals," says Harrison Cho, electronics analyst at Seoul-based Mirae Asset Securities. "Such an enormous volume expansion isn't realistic."

LG won't be deterred however. The company says that its aesthetically pleasing sets practically guarantee that consumers are "bound to make a stop in front of our new products, making it easy for salesmen to start explaining their features," says Kang. And don't assume that LG's penchant for design means that their HDTV's are lacking in the feature department. It's new LG60 boasts a refresh rate of 180 Hz and a contrast ratio of 30000:1 putting it on par with the picture quality of better known manufacturers.

Via Business Week