[Click eStock] LG Electronics Gains from India's China Boycott Movement

Chinese Companies Playing It Safe... No.1 Xiaomi Even Covers Its Signboard
LG Electronics Expands Product Line with New Releases Targeting Indian Market
Increasing ODM Share... "Reducing Losses Through Production Efficiency"

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] LG Electronics' smartphone sales are rapidly increasing in India. This appears to be due to the boycott of Chinese products spreading amid the border dispute between India and China.

On the 7th, Dongwon Kim, a researcher at KB Securities, stated, "LG Electronics' smartphone sales in India from May to June reportedly increased tenfold compared to the previous period," and analyzed, "This is because anti-China sentiment is rapidly expanding in India, including the spread of the boycott of Chinese products due to the border dispute with China."

In fact, until the first quarter, Chinese companies held over 70% market share in the Indian smartphone market, with Xiaomi at 30%, Vivo 17%, Realme 14%, and Oppo 12%, but a reversal of the situation is being sensed. As anti-China sentiment spreads, Xiaomi, the market leader, is covering its signboards with banners printed with the phrase 'Made in India' and is prohibiting employees from wearing clothes with the company logo. Accordingly, LG Electronics plans to expand its product lineup by launching the budget smartphone 'W series' specialized for the Indian market and releasing six smartphones starting in the second half of this year.

Additionally, LG plans to increase the proportion of outsourced production (DDM) from 30% last year to 70% this year. This aims to improve the cost structure. Furthermore, the effect of relocating production lines to Vietnam is expected to support the strategy to reduce losses. Researcher Kim said, "Especially recently, LG Group is focusing on a business adjustment strategy of selection and concentration, so there is also a possibility of improving business efficiency in the Mobile Communications (MC) division in the mid to long term," and predicted, "The scale of losses in the MC division will decrease in the future."