LG sees no sales slowdown

LG Electronics (Thailand) has reaffirmed that the impact from the prolonged flooding in many provinces on its overall business, including manufacture and sale of home appliances and electronic devices, will be fleeting.
“The firm believes that it will reach its sales target of Bt22 billion, up 20 per cent from last year, as projected,” Alongkorn Chujit, deputy managing director of the South Korean firm’s local unit, said yesterday.
So far, there has been no business loss reported by its dealers in those affected areas or from its plant in Rayong, he said.
The company still expects to see healthy growth in LCD (liquid-crystal display) televisions, LED (light-emitting diode) TVs and washing machines, which account for 60 per cent of its total sales. Mobile phones and air-conditioners make up the rest.
The company has left its production schedule unchanged.
In middle of this month, the company will initiate a service campaign in the affected provinces to repair its customers’ home appliances that were damaged by the floods. Though this plan is still being worked out, it should include discounts for parts and no service charge.
Despite the natural disaster, the company will still launch its Thinq technology at the BoI Fair next month.
Thunyachate Ekvetchavit, marketing director, said this innovation would be showcased for the first time in Southeast Asia, after its debuts in South Korea, North America and Europe early this year.
Thinq technology will allow consumers to manage their refrigerators, washing machines, ovens and Hom-Bot, a robotic vacuum cleaner, via their smart phones for energy efficiency with convenience.
In the middle of next year, the company plans to put its front-loading washing machines in stores as the first product of premium lines that are equipped with this signature technology. Hom-Bot, refrigerators and ovens will follow.
To build awareness of this technology, the company spent about Bt50 million on construction and marketing promotions for its own pavilion at the BoI Fair, which will run from November 10-25 at Impact Muang Thong Thani.
“Smilenovation” will be the theme of the company’s pavilion, presenting a combination of customer lifestyle and state-of-the-art technology that provides satisfaction and convenience.
The 1,000-square-metre standalone pavilion will be divided into two key zones. The Smart Technology zone will present LG’s smart-technology product solutions – from home entertainment to mobile communications. The highlighted products are a 72-inch, full-LED cinema three-dimensional TV and LG PenTouch TV.
The next zone is Innovative Green Living through Home Appliances, featuring health and energy-saving solutions, including air-conditioning.
In this zone, the visitor can experience Thinq technology for himself.
Throughout this 16-day event, the company expects to welcome more than 400,000 visitors to its pavilion, Thunyachate said.