[CES 2016] LG aims to triple OLED TV sales

LAS VEGAS -- LG Electronics on Wednesday vowed to triple its organic light-emitting diode TV sales this year, pinning hopes especially on the lucrative U.S. market for growth.

“Last year, we couldn’t meet consumer demand due to production constraints. Considering the increasing demand, we could more than triple the sales this year,” LG’s TV chief Kwon Bong-suk said at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. 

After sluggish sales in the first half of last year, LG’s home entertainment division succeeded in turning around in the third quarter.

“Our fourth-quarter sales will surge,” he said, declining to reveal the specific figures, citing the company’s regulatory filing later this month.

The U.S., together with Korea, is a key market for the company’s premium OLED TVs. Buoyed by the recent upbeat momentum there, LG has decided to run its first-ever Super Bowl commercial, to be produced by Ridley Scott.

“The U.S. market is crucial and other markets such as Latin America and Russia are fast catching up. We will expand our OLED TV presence in other markets this year,” he said.

Despite the increased sales target, Kwon made it clear the company had no immediate plans to cut TV sales, saying: “We cut the prices enough last year. We will maintain the price gap with UHD LCD TVs.”

LG is a leading OLED TV manufacturer, while other major manufacturers still stick to LCD TVs for better profitability. Along with some Chinese TV-makers, last year Panasonic jumped on the bandwagon.

Kwon also showed positive expectations about Sony’s possibly entry. LG aims to form an OLED alliance together with rival TV manufacturers in order to boost the market.

Market research firm IHS estimates global OLED TV sales will hit 7 million units by 2019. 

By Lee Ji-yoon, Korea Herald correspondent

(jylee@heraldcorp.com)