LG aims for No. 1 in home appliance market in Europe

BERLIN ― An executive at LG Electronics declared Friday that the company will position itself as the top home appliance brand in the European market by 2015.

In a press conference held on the sidelines of IFA 2011, Lee Young-ha, president of the company’s home appliance division, said it aims for a two-digit market share ― 13 percent for washers and 12.5 percent for refrigerators ― with its premium smart home appliances such as high-tech refrigerators and washing machines.

“Considering that smart home appliances have become the new attention-grabbing industrial trend, LG Electronics will provide the standards of the future home appliances and conquer the market,” he said.

Lee added that it will need its sales figures to reach at least 18 billion won ($16.96 million) to become the world’s No. 1 maker of refrigerators and washers since sales in the global appliance industry come to about 200 trillion won.

“It’s inevitable for us to think of that figure as a target to achieve the goal,” said Lee.

He also projected that the unit’s sales figure will improve by the fourth quarter or early next year.

LG’s differentiation strategy for its refrigerator, which is based on its ThinQ technology ― a shortened term for Think Quick ― is its food managing function, according to Lee.

“It recognizes the type of food stored inside the refrigerator through methods like voice recognition,” he said. “The home appliances also have a feature that automatically realizes any malfunction and connects directly to the call center.”

According to a report released by Pike Research earlier this year, the smart appliance market, including smart grid-connected refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, water heaters and dishwashers, will experience greater growth beginning in 2013 and will account for a record $26.1 billion in the global annual market by 2019.

By Cho Ji-hyun, Korea Herald correspondent
(sharon@heraldcorp.com)