LG eyes larger presence in IT

LG, the consumer durables major, plans to expand in the information technology (IT) segment with a string of products, its new India managing director Soon Kwon said in a conversation with Business Standard.

At the moment, it has only personal computer (PC) monitors in its portfolio. It will introduce more products such as laptops and printers, Kwon said. The likely launch will be this year. One reason it is moving quickly on plans for IT is because of rival Samsung. The latter has had a headstart over LG in the domain, with the launch of laptops about a year and a half earlier. It is now making waves in the tablet PC arena with its Galaxy Tab.

Kwon admits that LG, leader in the consumer durables space in India with an overall share of about 35 per cent, has been slow on IT. Samsung, its closest rival with a share of about 23 per cent, has been clearly faster there. But the firm hopes to cover lost ground, Kwon said. The plan is to fill gaps in its portfolio, he said.

Besides IT, mobile phones and three-dimensional (3D) television are the other areas where the consumer durables major, with a turnover of Rs 16,000 crore in India, is investing heavily. It has just introduced a new range of 3D TVs that use a new technology called film patterned retarder (FPR) that addresses consumer concerns over the flickering images that previous 3D technology had. The glasses used to view 3D content are lighter in the case of LG in comparison to the special eyewear that went with 3D technology earlier, the firm said in a press briefing here on Tuesday.

While the market for 3D TVs is just under 50,000 units in the three million-unit flat panel television segment in India, this is likely to change as LG's products gain traction, say experts. The firm has priced its 3D models between Rs 58,990 and Rs 1,64,990. These are for screen sizes from 32-inch to 55-inch, respectively. Samsung's 32-inch 3D LED is priced at Rs 54,900, while its 40-inch 3D LED stands at Rs 94,990. Sony's 32-inch 3D LED is over Rs 60,000 , while its 40-inch 3D LED is Rs 1,19,900, according to channel sources.

India will be the fifth market after Korea, the US, Europe and Australia, where its 3D TVs with FPR have been introduced. All of this has happened in the span of a few months since the products were first showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January.

But Samsung and Sony are not likely to sit still following the launch from LG. Sony's chairman, president and chief executive officer, Howard Stringer, had indicated during a visit to India this March that he was targeting about 30 per cent of revenues to come from 3D products alone in India by 2012. Samsung is also expected to up the ante following LG's launch.