LAS VEGAS, Jan. 7, 2009 – Seeing the current economic conditions in the United States as “an opportunity for LG Electronics to differentiate itself,” the company is strengthening its commitment to innovation, customer service and sustainability during 2009, according to LG’s chief executive for North America.
In his annual keynote address during LG’s media briefing on the eve of the 2009 International CES？, Michael Ahn, president and CEO of LG Electronics North America, said, “In the current economic environment, we must press forward and work toward our goals. So, even with the recession, we will not reduce investments in marketing or R&D.”
Highlighting progress in 2008, Ahn said LG’s brand awareness in the United States increased to 92.3 percent, up from 83 percent in 2007 and 75 percent in 2006. “More Americans now think of ‘stylish design’ and ‘smart technology’ as the image of the LG brand,” he said.
“Despite the difficult economy, LG’s sales increased, too,” Ahn said. In North America, LG Electronics exceeded its goals for the year, achieving revenues of $13.2 billion in 2008, a 16 percent increase from the previous year. Just five years ago, North American revenues were $5.6 billion.
“This growth is a result of our intense focus on the consumer – delivering products that are innovative and stylish and most importantly, products that fit into consumers’ everyday lives,” the CEO said.
Ahn pledged to maintain LG “as a premium brand through product leadership,” unveiling innovations* such as:
- Smart HDTV technologies, including beautifully designed wireless models that deliver stunning picture quality
- Continued advancements in LCD TV picture quality with LED backlighting and TruMotion 240 Hz technology
- LCD HDTVs with the world’s lowest energy consumption
- An expanded line-up of Network Blu-ray Disc Players and Blu-ray based Home Theater Systems
- Network connectivity in plasma and LCD TVs, giving consumers even more options for content delivery
“New and expanded LG partnerships with industry leaders such as Yahoo!, YouTube, Netflix and CinemaNow will deliver content that consumers crave,” he added.
Finally, excellence in customer service and environmental stewardship also are important components of LG’s 2009 North American strategy, according to Ahn:
“Through continuous improvement in all aspects of customer service, we are striving for best-in-class performance in 2009. For one key performance measurement, call-center response time, we’re already at 30 seconds.”
“Sustainability will be a major focus again in 2009, building on our initial successes in 2008 – with our nationwide electronics recycling program and achieving the new Energy Star ratings on our flat-panel HDTVs.”
Concluding his remarks, Ahn said, “Of course, 2009 will be challenging in many ways. But I think this is an opportunity to for LG to differentiate itself from competitors, and I am positive about the future.”
