LG, who earlier today revealed their TV and Audio line-up for the last quarter, is set to jump into the top end of the party box market with a 360 degree speaker.
Also coming are new Tone in ear buds, developed with UK Company Meridian that have a whisper mode that enhances audio when speaking through a face mask.
In the TV market the South Korean brand is launching several new QLED TVs which management claims is “getting closer” to the quality of their OLED TV’s they include three 8K models.
During a conference call Tony Brown, the head of Home Entertainment at LG Electronics said that the business was having an incredible year in TV market, but he did admit that sales were down in 2021 to date Vs 2020 but up on 2019.
LG who is more interested in the premium end of the TV market believes that retailers who are holding margin in TV’s due to short supply are benefitting from the “Brand power” that LG is able to deliver.
Locally LG Electronics is currently running both a locally produced and overseas TV campaign in an effort to reinforce LG’s brand position in the market.
While strong in the TV market LG appear to still be a small player in the audio market, despite having what some observer’s claims are excellent audio products including a stylish new 360-degree outdoor speaker.
Locally LG is refusing to say what the price of the new 120-watt speaker will be other than “It will be over $500”.
They have also refused to name the retailers who will stock their new audio products though they did show an instore merchandiser of the new speaker in an Australian retail store.
The move into the party box market comes as both JB Hi Fi and Harvey Norman battle it out for outdoor speaker and party box product with retailers telling ChannelNews that they see demand soaring for outdoor audio products as State Governments lift COVID restrictions.
When one senior JB Hi Fi executive was asked recently about supply of audio products including party and outdoor speakers he said, “We are locked and loaded and ready to go”. He indicated that the big retailer who also owns The Good Guys had enough stock to handle the anticipated demand for audio products as consumers are allowed to shop again.
Brown also admitted that the Companies new LG Direct online store was tracking well claiming “It is a small part of our business”.
Also in the LG Electronics audio mix are new LG TONE Free FP series earbuds which have new microphone capability. LG works with UK Company Meridian in the development of their audio products and one of the unique features is technology that enhances speech through a mask which will be mandatory on public transport as Australia comes out of lockdown.
