Home Fitness Subscription Service App
Launching in September with Various OS Support
AI Camera Technology, TV Connectivity
Implementing Diverse Services
IT Devices Made by LG
Designed for Comfortable Use
Collaboration with Other Industries like SM Entertainment
Cho Ju-wan, CEO of LG Electronics, delivering the keynote speech at the launch ceremony of the home fitness joint venture 'Fitness Candy' with SM Entertainment, held on the 30th at the Conrad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul. (Photo by LG Electronics)
[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok]
"While the home appliance paradigm has so far focused on creating products centered on functions and performance, LG Electronics will lead the smart home appliance paradigm centered on customer experience."
LG Electronics, which has been recognized as 'Home Appliances are LG,' is shifting its focus from product specification-oriented development competition to enhancing customer experience. To this end, it has partnered with SM Entertainment to provide services tailored to customers' wellness (physical, emotional, and social health) and lifestyle. This is interpreted as aligning with LG Group's management direction, which is improving its business structure toward advanced industries such as the robot business under Business Solutions (BS) and eco-friendly clean tech business in Vehicle Components (VS).
On the 30th, at the launch ceremony of the joint venture 'Fitness Candy' in the home fitness sector with SM Entertainment held at Conrad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, LG Electronics President Cho Ju-wan stated, "We aim to transform into a company that provides 'smart life solutions' for a leading life," adding, "To achieve this, we will fill in the gaps through collaboration with specialized companies from completely different fields."
He continued, "At Fitness Candy, the joint venture with SM Entertainment, LG Electronics' technology-based platform construction capabilities and software (SW) development capabilities will meet SM's content and services to provide differentiated home training services," emphasizing the collaboration.
In the newly established Fitness Candy, LG Electronics holds 51% of the shares, and SM Entertainment holds 49%. Fitness Candy plans to create home fitness-related content and devices and operate a subscription service-based app. The application (app), expected to be released as early as September, will be installed on various operating systems (OS) such as LG Electronics' smartphones and smart TVs.
In particular, LG Electronics plans to connect its artificial intelligence (AI) camera technology to TVs to implement various services. For example, when selecting workout content featuring model Han Hye-jin, an ambassador for Fitness Candy, on the TV app, the AI camera technology will provide a service that checks how similar the user's posture is to the model's. In the future, development of strength training equipment, indoor bicycles, smart bands, etc., utilizing AI, big data, displays, and motors is under consideration.
Notably, this business is led not by LG Electronics' BS division but by the 'enterprise-wide' division that drives the entire company's management. Since most of the Fitness Candy business operates within LG's home appliance system linked to AI, it can also be seen as aligned with LG Group's robot business restructuring. President Cho leads all this management. He is both the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of LG Electronics.
President Cho's idea is that LG can collaborate with completely different industries like SM Entertainment to make IT devices created by LG more acceptable to customers. Of course, the Fitness Candy business and collaboration with SM Entertainment proceed within LG Electronics' OS. In other words, the well-established Home Appliance (H&A) business can be sufficiently integrated into the BS business, and this is led by the CSO. An LG Electronics official said, "Fitness Candy should be seen more as a new business than BS, and the entire company is leading the business. Since President Cho's appointment at the end of last year, the CSO part has been actively promoting new businesses and company-in-company (CIC) initiatives, and results such as the Fitness Candy home fitness business and electric vehicle charger business are gradually emerging."
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