LG Electronics clinched a contract to provide $36 million worth of consumer electronics products to Brazil's largest retailer Martins, said the electronics maker March 30. The company said its top management recently held a meeting with its counterparts at Martins and signed the deal, under which LG Electronics will supply electronics goods worth 100 million real, equivalent to some $36 million, to the giant retailer this year. Under the contract, LG Electronics' premium home appliance products, including flat-panel televisions, computer monitors and digital versatile disc (DVD) players will be sold at Martins' outlets. Martins operates 4,600 outlets across Brazil and is supplying merchandise and electronics goods to some 20,000 retail shops nationwide. The retailer dominates some 75 percent of the Brazilian retail market estimated at $360 million. LG Electronics chalked up $800 million sales in Brazil, Latin America's fastest emerging economy, last year. It plans to emerge as the No. 1 consumer electronics brand in Brazil by achieving $1.1 billion in sales goal in 2005. "LG Electronics will foster its Brazilian production affiliate into a key production base in Latin America with aim of becoming the No. 1 electronics and mobile communication device vendor in Latin America," said Cho Choong-bong, executive vice president of LG Electronics. The world's fifth-largest mobile handset maker plans to implement aggressive regional marketing campaigns across Brazil in collaboration with Martins. Meanwhile, the electronics maker said it would grant stock options for 766,000 shares, which account for 0.49 percent of the company's outstanding stocks, to its 22 top executives and four outside directors. It is the first time that LG has given stock options to its executives, including vice chairman Kim Ssang-su. Kim, 61, was granted 130,000 share options, which he can begin exercising at a strike price of 71,130 won ($70.2) each. The options expire in March 2012. Park Moon-hwa, president of LG's handset business division, received 40,000 share options with the same terms. Chief technology officer Lee Hee-kook got 40,000 options. Four outside directors, including former finance minister Jin Nyum, were also among those who received part of the 766,000 shares, or 0.49 percent of LG's outstanding stocks. On March 11, LG revised its corporate articles, allowing stock options within 15 percent of its total outstanding shares at the company's annual shareholders' meeting. Other LG Group affiliates, including LG Corp., LG Chem and LG.Philips LCD, are expected to soon grant stock options to their executives as they recently revised their corporate articles. Granting the stock options, which will drag down earnings at the electronics maker if they are exercised, came amid concerns LG may report lower-than-expected earnings for the first quarter of this year mainly because of falling handset margins and its unprofitable home appliance division, according to domestically based analysts.