SEOUL, Feb 24 (Reuters) – LG Electronics Inc
aims to broaden its range of smartphones so sales this year grow
at double the rate of the market, as the South Korean company
seeks to retake the position of world’s third-biggest maker.
LG, who slipped behind Huawei Technologies Co last
year with a market share of just under 5 percent, also plans to
sell a smartwatch capable of connecting with rivals’ phones,
mobile division president Park Jong-seok told reporters ahead of
a Barcelona trade fair this week.
LG shipped a record 47.7 million smartphones last year, 81
percent more than a year earlier. But its mobile unit needs more
growth to return to profit, after spending heavily on marketing
to narrow the gap with leaders Samsung Electronics Co
and Apple Inc.
The company aims to increase sales through more models
appealing to a wider consumer group, with the Barcelona launch
of the G2 Mini – a lower-priced version of the flagship G2 –
coming just weeks after unveiling a larger-screen G Pro2.
“I expect competition among tier-2 manufacturers for more
market share to become tougher this year, and price competition
will also naturally intensify,” Park said.
LG’s mobile unit may take a while to become profitable after
swinging to a loss in the three months ended December, as it
will continue to spend heavily this year to promote its high-end
models, Park said.
Growth of high-end sales in advanced economies is slowing as
smartphones become more widespread, likely bringing overall
sales growth to the market consensus of 10 to 15 percent this
year, Park said.
Overall sales grew 38 percent last year to 1.0 billion
smartphones, showed data from researcher IDC.
Park also said LG plans to continue reducing its reliance on
local retailers in China where competitors include Lenovo Group
, whose $2.9 billion offer for Google Inc’s
Motorola handset division could see it leapfrog LG to global
No.3 from No.5.
LG also has to contend with the low-priced phones of other
local makers Huawei, ZTE Corp and Xiaomi.
“In China, we had been pushing for volume growth through
investment in retail channels but this proved to be very
costly,” said Park.
“We made a strategic change there in late 2012 to focus on
high-end models and aim to grow sales mainly through
partnerships with mobile carriers.”
