LG enters launderette market

LG Electronics on Thursday opened a self-service laundry in New York equipped with only its products as it pushes to expand business-to-business sales in the United States.

The self-service laundry will be operated by Coinmach Corp., the largest laundry service in the U.S. According to LG Electronics, the company provides related services to more than 80,000 apartments and schools in the U.S.

“As the top brand in the U.S. market for washing machines used in homes, the company plans to continue the success into the commercial washing machine market,” said chief of LG’s U.S. operations Park Seog-won in a statement. He added that the company is in the process of expanding into other markets in the Americas.

The Korean electronics maker said that the self-service laundry, known as Laundry Lounge, is equipped with washing machines with 10 kilogram capacity that has high energy efficiency. The Laundry Lounge is also equipped with televisions and provides free internet access, and the company plans to set up 15 such establishments across the U.S. by the end of next year.

According to the company, the model installed at the establishment meet the energy consumption standard to carry the Energy Star logo. Products that carry the logo use up to 30 percent less energy than required by U.S. government standards.

In addition, the model received the Tier 3 rating for water and electricity consumption from the Consortium for Energy Efficiency, the company said.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)