LG Confimed to Quit Smartphone Business

 

LG's officials have confirmed that the company will no longer deal with the smartphone business and wind up the entire operation by July 31 this year. Closing down the smartphone business is not easy for this consumer electronics giant. This wind-up is credited to massive losses that accounted for 4.5 billion dollars incurred over the span of 6 years. 

LG quitting mobile phone business

This wind-up will let Apple, Samsung, and other companies capture LG's market share and secure more consumers. The company's decision to leave the smartphone business will allow them to focus on core competencies and other crucial areas such as robotics, AI, B2B solutions, and electric vehicle components. 

LG has a humungous market presence globally as far as consumer electronics is concerned. But unfortunately, the South Korean giant fails to steer its smartphone business in the right direction. Series of unsuccessful years have forced the company to quit the smartphone business.

Sluggish marketing tactics have left LG with 2% of the global market share. Last year, the company only manages to ship 23 million phones- this is nearly 10 times lower than Samsung's shipment figure. The LG smartphone business is the smallest of its 5 divisions accounting for 7% of revenue. 

Here's the look at Company's official report: Source - LG

Q1 2020 Market Performance 

The LG's officials confirmed that the company will continue to capitalize on develop mobility-related tech and mobile expertise to solidify its market presence. This announcement has put the break on the speculations around the future of LG's mobile division. 

In 2013-14, the company was doing well and made considerable sales, especially in the US market, which let them secured the third position in the smartphone business after Apple and Samsung. The company's decision to incorporate ultra-wide camera tech into its premium lineup was the game-changer.  LG's offering was as good as other mainstream rivals, but they lack regular updates and good OS.

But after that said period the company fails to make an impact owing to its stubborn approach to update hardware and software in its flagship lineup. LG also confronted criticism from several analysts regarding their market tactics. According to them, their marketing approach was stubborn and not as aggressive as mainstream rivals, including some Chinese OEMs. 

But LG is not the alone who has faced such disruption. The companies like Nokia and HTC have already been through the same situation. The only difference is that they are still operational and striving to protect their existence.