Samsung is set to mount a major marketing drive to try and get LG Mobile customers to switch to a Samsung smartphone in two key markets, South Korea and the USA ,as well as select European markets after LG Electronics announced their exit from the mobile with losses in the billions.
LG Wing
Despite having excellent award-winning mobile smartphones, LG Electronics has struggled in the Australian mobile market and at one stage both carriers and smartphones retailers were either not stocking or only stocking limited models due in part to the lack of marketing or rebate funding.
Several analysts have said that the biggest issue for LG Electronics is their factory centric marketing across both mobile, TV and appliances with the Company failing to get brand traction with consumers.
Now Samsung and several Chinese brands are looking to expand their presence in the sector at home and abroad, industry observers said yesterday.
After years of money-losing performance, LG said it will close its mobile business by July 31. The decision came two months after the company hinted at exiting from its loss-making mobile communications division.
Recently LG Electronics Australia entered the crowded PC market despite having failed in the past in this category.
According to market researcher Counterpoint Research, LG’s market share in South Korea has been falling amid rumours about its departure.
LG’s market share was 10 percent in January and February, down 8 percentage points and 4 percentage points from a year earlier, respectively.
In contrast, Samsung’s share stood at 61 percent in January, up 5 percentage points from a year earlier, and 69 percent in February, up 4 percentage points from a year ago, on the back of the early release of its Galaxy S21 smartphone.
Samsung Australia is refusing to release market share figures in Australia.
Industry observers said that LG smartphone users are likely to switch to Samsung devices down the road since a large number of smartphone users are still more familiar with Android-powered phones instead of Apple’s iPhones that use iOS mobile operating system.
Anti-China sentiment in Australia, South Korea and the USA is set to see Chinese brands such as Oppo, Realme, or Xiaomi pick up share.
Knowing that LG Electronics was desperate to sell their loss-making division Samsung recently announced in South Korea that old smartphone users, including those who own LG’s V50 ThinQ, can trade in their devices for Samsung’s Galaxy S21 series and Z foldable smartphone models.
Outside of South Korea 80% of LG Electronics mobile business came out of the USA market making them the #3 brand behind Samsung and Apple.
LG was the world’s ninth-largest smartphone vendor last year with a market share of 2 percent after shipping 24.7 million smartphones.
This represented a 10 percent share and the fifth-largest supplier in Latin America with a 4 percent share, according to Counterpoint Research.
“With the competitiveness of its flagships weakened, LG’s market share has a higher proportion of the mid-to-low price segment in the U.S. and Latin America,” Counterpoint Research. “As a result, it faces fierce competition from brands such as Alcatel and Motorola, with Samsung’s A series clearly ahead of it.”
“Current LG phone inventory will continue to be available for sale,” the company said. “LG will provide service support and software updates for customers of existing mobile products for a period of time, which will vary by region.”
In Australia it’s not known what will happen to the personnel employed in this division.
