LG Electronics’ (LG) announced that its CEO William Cho and key executives reiterated the company’s vision for the future as well as its strategy to strengthen business competitiveness during a press conference held especially for Korean media in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A., on January 6.
The CEO began by mentioning that, despite the uncertainty created by the prolonged global economic recession and continuing supply chain instability, opportunities still exist within the current environment. “We will keep pushing forward with our belief that opportunities can always be found by concentrating on how to provide our customers with new experiences and value,” said CEO Cho.
The CEO continued by sharing the company’s main focus in regard to business structure. “We will create a competitive business structure, making targeted improvements rather than focusing on short-term cost reduction,” he stated. “To this end, LG’s existing businesses will overcome current limitations by changing their model and methods, while our new businesses will grow through in-house innovation and the establishment of strategic partnerships.”
During the press conference, company executives talked about plans to expand LG’s hardware-focused business to non-hardware areas, such as software platforms, content, services and solutions.
This will enable the company to diversify its overall business portfolio by providing customized services and solutions that can be paired with or offered separately to its innovative consumer electronics products.
LG will further advance its content and services business through the intuitive LG webOS platform, which currently powers more than 180 million LG smart TVs worldwide.
From 2018 to 2022, LG’s webOS licensing business grew ten-fold, with more and more TV manufacturers adopting the platform for its ease-of-use, customizability and range of premium services, including LG Channels – the company’s free TV and IP channels service.
As of 2022, more than 300 TV brands have chosen webOS, with LG continuously increasing the capabilities and compatibility of its acclaimed smart TV platform.
LG is also developing its own interactive content such as LG Fitness, an app that provides access to a wide selection of workout videos, and LG Art Lab, a platform for collecting, trading and displaying non-fungible token (NFT) artworks. Both services were recognized for their innovative design and user experience at the CES 2023 Innovation Award.
Another of LG’s non-hardware offerings, the LG ThinQ™ smart home platform has gone far beyond the mere linking of household devices, evolving to encompass the entire customer journey, with services that leverage the collection of usage data to create a more personalized experience.
In the high-growth arena of electric vehicle (EV) components, the LG Vehicle component Solutions (VS) Company is now delivering meaningful results after 10 years of sustained investment in software development and future-technology preparation.
Last year’s order backlog of KRW 80 trillion demonstrates the global competitiveness of the VS Company, which has become a trusted innovation partner to some of the auto industry’s biggest names.
The VS Company is also preparing the launch of its next-generation In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) system – a solution that is expected to further boost the performance and reputation of its EV components business.
Moreover, LG is expanding into EV charging solutions, following up its 2022 acquisition of a company specialized in EV chargers with the establishment of a production line at LG Digital Park in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Furthermore, LG VS is introducing an integrated EV charging solution, as well as developing and producing EV chargers and charging control systems.
LG is also accelerating the development of future core technologies outside of the EV components sector. In particular, LG NOVA (LG North American Innovation Center) is strategically investing in and working with promising technology startups in North America to secure future growth engines in areas such as digital healthcare and the metaverse.
In digital healthcare, LG recently launched a remote medical treatment solution developed in partnership with Amwell, a U.S. telemedicine company, while in the metaverse, the company is aiming to expand cooperation with partners to secure core technologies over the mid- to long-term.
