Backed by a double-digit growth in business, South Korean consumer electronics giant LG is looking to earn a revenue of QR2.5bn ($700mn) from the GCC region this year, LG Electronics Gulf president Duk Young Kim said.
Although the television segment still remains LG’s core business, he said the company was having a “sizeable share” in white goods and air-conditioners, with Qatar remaining one of its top regional markets in terms of overall share.
Within a few years, “smart TVs” would completely dominate the segment, he told Gulf Times in Doha yesterday.
In view of this, LG’s researchers have spend considerable time at its R&D facility, innovating new features and products, which Kim said, would hit market in the coming months.
One of these will be a range of interactive smart TVs with a “curved display” that will give “better viewing experience” to users. These will be launched in Qatar in the coming months. Already, LG’s 3D televisions are doing well, he said.
With Qatar experiencing “strong growth” and its construction industry in top gear yet again, LG sees greater scope in district cooling based on its “MULTI V air conditioning” system.
“Based on our vast experience in district cooling, we are looking at undertaking many district cooling projects in Doha and elsewhere. Already, we have completed district cooling in more than 25 projects in Qatar. Some of these buildings are as high as 15 storeys,” Kim said.
On mobile handsets, he admitted that the South Korean company had not done well in the region, though its latest smart phone LG Optimus G had gained “sizeable market” and “user rating” in the US, UK and other markets.
“May be we are a bit late getting into this segment,” Kim said.
He said LG has established a separate company to take care of after-sales service, the core functioning of which is based on a “centralised call centre”.
“We attach top priority to customer satisfaction. If our customers are not taken care of, our efforts in innovating new products and features will not have the desired impact,” Kim said.
He complimented LG’s Qatar partner, Video Home & Jumbo Electronics, which had won “top award for customer service” in 2012.
The award was decided on the basis of distributor performance in the entire Middle East and Africa.
