Can LG Mobile Become the "Second Samsung"?

According to the Beijing News, LG Electronics President Shin Moon-fan recently admitted that mobile phone sales were not ideal after returning to the Chinese market last year. The report cited the latest data from Analysys International, saying that LG mobile phones, which once had a place in the Chinese market, still did not make it into the top ten nearly a year after experiencing a collapse and returning to the Chinese market.

In fact, as far as I know, LG was ranked in the top ten in the Chinese market (ninth) in 2010, and they have disappeared from the top ten since 2011. Although both are Korean companies, LG has long been under the shadow of Samsung, and this situation is particularly obvious and serious in the domestic market. I believe that this is directly related to LG's mistakes in the mobile phone market. If you observe LG's mobile phone products for a long time, you will find that although LG's mobile phones have also had an upward trend before, they are mainly concentrated in the mid-to-low-end market. In the field of high-end smartphones, LG has been absent for a long time and lacks hot-selling models.

I think this is related to the fact that LG's smartphone layout was several years later than most of its peers in the industry. LG has always been less sensitive and inefficient in the mobile phone business. For example, in October 2009, LG first announced that it expected to release more than 15 smartphones in the rest of 2009 and 2010, and strive to achieve 6 to 7 breakthroughs in 2009, hoping to achieve the goal of 4 million to 5 million units shipped in 2010. But a month later, LG still did not release a smartphone.

Perhaps LG also has its own hidden reasons. I once heard a saying that a few years ago, LG launched a "Chocolate" mobile phone for high-end fashion groups, and vigorously promoted it, investing a lot of money, which made it short of funds after entering the smartphone field. Although LG spent a lot of time and energy, the Chocolate mobile phone at that time was not so suitable for domestic consumers. Its price was comparable to that of mobile terminals positioned for business people, and Chocolate was not a smartphone, with relatively simple functions, which did not meet the needs of business people. Therefore, LG's product strategy is somewhat out of touch with the actual needs of domestic consumers. From this case, we can also see that LG has not made any progress in grasping products and user needs.

Some people say that LG phones have been following Samsung's strategy and footsteps for many years. I agree with this statement. With the impact of high-end products such as Apple, the market share of the former big-name mobile phone manufacturers has been continuously eroded. It is inevitable to lag behind competitors under the trend of smartphones. In addition, LG phones have launched too many versions for different operators, which has also dragged down their mobile product profits.

Another point is that in the era of smart phones, compared with other international giants, LG's brand accumulation is very weak, and it has not invested much in market response and software application layout. Many people in the industry also believe that LG lacks star products comparable to Samsung's Galaxy series, and its market operation lacks systematization and continuity, resulting in its mobile phone projects not having high profits.

In terms of channels, for many years, in the domestic market, Samsung and LG have faced the possibility of being marginalized or even withdrawing, just like Japanese mobile phone manufacturers such as Panasonic, NEC, and Kyocera. However, thanks to the cooperation with urban chain giants, mobile phone chain stores, and domestic operators, Samsung and LG have finally avoided repeating the mistakes of Japanese manufacturers in the mainland market. However, unlike Samsung, LG has never entered the mainstream market in the mainland market. One of the reasons is that LG's channels are relatively single, and it does not pay much attention to e-commerce channels. It has not invested heavily in self-built channels like domestic giants such as Huawei and ZTE in recent years. Its high-end products cannot sell better than Samsung, and it lacks mid- and low-end products. With attacks from other international manufacturers in front, coupled with the thriving domestic mobile phone brands and a large number of copycat mobile phone groups, LG faces the double dilemma of "strong enemies in front and pursuers behind" in the mainland market. The author is not optimistic about Shen Wenfan's plan to "revive LG mobile phones in five years."

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.