Posted by goldenface
LG Set to become No 4 World Handset Maker
By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
South Korea's LG Electronics is expected to become the world’s No. 4 handset maker with its latest high-end models due to the won’s recent weakness and Sony Ericsson’s slowdown in growth of the European mobile phone market.
Industry sources said Wednesday that LG is expected to sell over 23 million mobile phones in the first quarter, higher than some 21 million forecast earlier, while Sony-Ericsson is likely to sell only 22 million in the January-March period.
In the first quarter last year, LG sold 15.8 million handsets against Sony Ericsson’s 21.8 million.
``We will surge ahead of Sony Ericsson in the first quarter thanks to our release of new models ― such as the `Viewty,’ `Venus’ and `Voyager’ ― and increased presence in new markets,’’ a high-ranking LG executive said.
He added that more than 1 million Viewty phones have been sold globally since its introduction in the fourth quarter of last year. Mid-tier Voyager and Venus phones saw 700,000 and 500,000 sold respectively during the period.
Over the past few years, LG has been injecting massive amounts of cash into its touch-screen mobile phones in the hope that the pricey phones will make a breakthrough for the company to compete with its bigger rivals.
By contrast, Sony-Ericsson, currently the world’s fourth-largest mobile phone manufacturer, is struggling in its strategic Europe as the stronger euro has been dragging down its shipments, while affecting sales.
Sony-Ericsson heavily depends on the relatively saturated European market. About 46 percent of the company’s sales came from Europe in 2007.
``Last year, Sony-Ericsson put priority on diversifying its portfolio to lessen its reliance on the European market,’’ Chief Executive Dick Komiyama had said earlier by adding that the company aims to boost sales in new markets.
Experts say competition between LG Electronics and Sony Ericsson is going to heat up as both companies have continuously introduced advanced phones either to overcome or secure their positions.
``The salient feature of the latest handset market is that a supplier hits on a successful theme and rides it like crazy in the market for a while until a different theme emerges somewhere else in the market,’’ the LG executive said.
Posted by amorphus
Be careful, SE! Introduce something really impressive (for example price reasonable all in one device)!:nostalgia:
Posted by Muhammad-Oli
I saw this one coming. LG has enjoyed huuuge growth in recent years, and I don't expect that to slow anytime soon. They enjoy good sales in the US where SE does not so much. Also, LG has both CDMA phones and GSM, which means more potential sales.
Posted by gola
wow,it's amazing what 120fps can do to a company...
Posted by belialwafu
they took it by storm.haha! so i think moto's going 5th?
Posted by Muhammad-Oli
I don't think so. Moto is still big in the US, so I think they'll stay at 3. I think SE is about to see a slip.
Posted by technical-expert
I dont think motorola will slip from no 3, I guess they have quite few phone preserved for release druing CTIA,including the featured 5mp kodak cam phone.
And i think lg overtaking Se is not a suprise,lately they have been doing well With touch screen models and high end phones.All i wish is Se doesn't slip to 6th position..By the way whose on 6th position
[ This Message was edited by: XPERIA X5 on 2008-03-26 11:52 ]
[ This Message was edited by: XPERIA X5 on 2008-03-26 11:52 ]
Posted by gola
HTC?
Posted by NightBlade
I hope this gives SE a bick smack in the face. They should release new models sooner than 3-4 months after an announcement.
Posted by mazi
past year SE always go for mid and low-end only 2-3 models high-end..but if this years they countinue this way they really go to 5th...shame...
Posted by JC08
The problem with se's strategy is that the period between announcement and release is too long, especialy the low end phones... When you see how long it takes for phones to arrive in other countries outside Europe you wont be surprised at the growth slump, the p1 just got released resently in South Africa and w960 aint here yet... T650 also is very scarce here... Just my thoughts...
P.S Low end phones are also a bit over prised so the customers go for other brands!
_________________
Yad. Hey. Vav. Hey.
[ This Message was edited by: JC08 on 2008-03-26 12:38 ]
Posted by goldenface
I suspect that this news will only be for this quarter, in a similar fashion to the quarter in which SE outperformed Samsung to become No 3 sales wise last year - it will take a few good quarters of selling more than SE to actually take the No4 position in market share.
More importantly is whether they are still turning in a profit because once you begin posting losses and declining sales then you're in trouble - like Moto did.
Dicky 's Q42007 press release did mention that this year would be challenging so I think they were aware that this might happen and will probably react to this by announcing some new and interesting devices and not relying so much on the Walkman and Cyber-shot tags, as I fear this may be putting all their eggs in the one basket.
Posted by gola
@JC
actually,the w960i just came to SA boet,not that it makes a difference though.still totally agree with you.worst part is that it even costs about twice as much as in some other countries,the audacity!
Posted by Fanofmodi
Well i dont think the problem is with high or low end phones. The actual problem is with marketing. Here in my country the handsets arrive too late and offcourse high pricing. Nokia samsung and lg have heavy advertising budget, u can see on each and every tv channel lg samsung and nokia adds going on and on. On the other hand SE sitting idle with no adds at all. Now samsung have signed amir khan as their brand ambassador and nokia have shahrukh khan, both are no 1 and 2 actors in india. Its going to cost a slip in growth for SE sitting idle.
Posted by goldenface
SE have a much lower marketing presence than both LG, Nokia and Samsung here in the UK, however they probably hold the number two position sales wise.
Every night on the TV I see adverts for N82 black, Samsung, LG and the iPhone. I haven't seen a SE TV ad since before Christmas.
Posted by belialwafu
isnt it
Nokia
Samsung
SE
Moto
...? am i right?
Posted by Muhammad-Oli
Nah mate it's
Nokia,
Samsung,
Motorola,
Sony Ericsson,
LG
at the moment at least.
Posted by belialwafu
oh i though i hear the news that SE was 3rd and beat moto...
Posted by Brightspark
On 2008-03-27 10:10:43, belialwafu wrote:
oh i though i hear the news that SE was 3rd and beat moto...
no. that was for sales in Milton Keynes.
[ This Message was edited by: Brightspark on 2008-03-27 15:46 ]
Posted by bearcub24
LG 5th soon to be 4th WOW, had a play on a friends LG shi*e the other day what a nightmare! They must sell better products than that!
Posted by belialwafu
maybe people are sick of common brands haha..theyre trying to find new brands. and LG is kinda cheap for me. thats why
Posted by Ranjith
jeez,i though ppl stopped buying LG!:(
im totally out of the mobile-world!!@@!
Posted by belialwafu
you know what guys? i think the "3g for all phone" by LG brought it to 5th place. Cause its a cheap way to get 3g right?
Posted by Yoruichi
This is an April fools joke ? LG make worse mobiles than Nokia and Moto.. Somebody must be laughing over LG being 3rd in sales. would take a cheap chinese knockoff before Id waste money on a LG mobile.
Posted by belialwafu
for me LG is better than chinese fakes.
Posted by Twometre
I wonder how far can LG be if we can see more of its growing strategies. As for moto I dont know how they mantain their position because they are so quiet.
Posted by bearcub24
A recent visit to the US and everyone seemed to be using a Moto of one for of another, usually a Razr, but yes they seem to have almost given up in Europe, even the much hyped Razr2 V8 seems to be a poor runner quickly going to PAYG. (a bit like straight to DVD lol:)
Posted by danial
In iran:
1.nokia
2.sony ericsson
3.samsung
Posted by belialwafu
Yeah, Moto OWNS the US haha..
Posted by JAGUY85
Sony Ericsson better be careful though. It (the shift) hasn't happened yet. Apart from better marketing, I think Sony Ericsson needs to tap more into the huge U.S. market as only a few of their phones are tailored to operate on the 850 band suitable for the U.S. They cannot survive off Europe alone. LG's rise is not because they are better (the world knows this), it's because of their exposure to certain markets and creating phones that though inferior to most Sony Ericssons created some hype/buzz due to mostly a design element. Cause I didn't see anything much groundbreaking outside of the Viewty from LG last year. So in other words, the Chocolate was what Razr was to Motorola.
Oh yeah, another issue with SE is their Supply Chain Management. They do not release phones to the market quickly enough. This is not an easy task, as the big boys such as Nokia and Samsung have more capacity to flood the market with their releases soon after. SE needs to work on this and fast. LG will not have a sizable lead on SE even if it does happen. This summer will be an interesting one...SE has more up it's sleeve.
Congrats to LG though for shaking things up a bit not just for SE but for the market in general.
So in summary, I think they must improve on:
1. Marketing worldwide
2. Supply chain management (release more phones and sooner)
3. Tapping into other markets with phones that cater to all markets
(3G/Edge/Quad). How hard is this?
4. Create more exciting handsets so they too can once again claim some buzz
Posted by belialwafu
agree, specially with no.4
Posted by JAGUY85
So did this happen yet?
Posted by Matteus
My new phone is a LG KS20. And I must say: my best phone.
A short video of my LG: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiS2RuxUQ-w&NR=1
With a Resco keyboard and a keyring-GPS of Freedom2000 it is almost perfect. Only 420€ from CDON.com (Swedish menu).
As LG say LIFE´s GOOG!
Posted by Bonovox
Yes as i have just today bought a LGK510 i can see why its a fantastic phone. Other companies have something to learn from them. Most recent SE mobiles have poor construction poor sound poor call quality and dreadful reliability. Its about time they took notice of the shoddy phones they are releasing. Sorry SONYERICSSON.
Posted by Bonovox
My new LG is the best phone i have had. Believe me they have improved and it will only get better. SonyEricsson need to bring out an all in one quality device like best for music best for camera and internet not just quality music player and poor camera. LG latest phones are fantastic.