LG, Samsung compete on premium refrigerators

LG Electronics is about to duke it out with Samsung Electronics over premium large refrigerators as Korea’s second-largest consumer electronics company is gearing up to launch its new, bigger and better product.

LG Electronics said Monday that it will release an all-new four-door fridge brand Dios with a 910-liter storage capacity, the world’s biggest refrigerator, next month.

The company added that it will further expand in the global premium fridge markets, signaling a direct challenge against its home rival Samsung, which practically has the edge over LG in most other electronic product markets such as displays and mobile phones.

LG’s announcement follows Samsung’s Zipel T9000, which the Korean tech giant unveiled during its media presentation early this month as the world’s largest with a capacity of 900 liter, while having Korean TV star Lee Seung-gi pose next to the product.

Samsung said that the four-door premium T9000 has large, convenient spaces and efficient cooling systems, hoping this product will make up for the slowdown in sales of other home appliances such as televisions.

LG also boasted its own product as “innovative,” saying that the Dios offers not only large storage space, which can shelve at least 26 1.5-liter bottles, but also offers efficient cooling systems through its proprietary fourth-generation linear compression technology.

The product, which comes in black, silver or white, includes “the energy-efficient magic space” with a 50-liter capacity where consumers can access daily necessaries such as water and side dishes, saving time and electricity.

It went on to say that despite being the world’s largest capacity, consumers would not need to worry about moving their furniture to fit this product in the house as its size remains the same as the existing two-door fridge.

However, it remains to be seen whether LG can outperform Samsung in this space given that Samsung has already been rolling out its Zipels at full production capacity to meet rising demand.

Samsung said Monday that orders for T9000 have reached three times as much as its previous two-door Zipel Grande Style product released in 2010 in ten days since the company introduced them.

“The company is operating its factory at full capacity to make sure they will be delivered to consumers without setback as orders have reached beyond expectations,” Samsung said in a press release.

By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)