The Return of Han Myeongho... LX Hausys' Premium Strategy and Overseas Expansion Succeed

Remarkable Achievement One Year After Return
Operating Profit of 109.8 Billion Won Last Year
635% Surge Compared to Previous Year

Han Myung-ho, CEO of LX Hausys (formerly LG Hausys), is achieving remarkable results just one year after his appointment. The combination of a premiumization strategy and targeting overseas markets has led to a 635% surge in operating profit within a year.

At the end of 2022, Han was tasked with improving performance and returned to LX Hausys after 10 years. He previously served as the inaugural CEO of LG Hausys when LG Chem's building materials division was spun off in April 2009, and stepped down in 2012.

Myeongho Han, CEO of LX Hausys

LX Hausys was separated from LG Group in May 2021 and incorporated into LX Group. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 caused a decline in performance. Profitability worsened due to rising raw material costs, the won-dollar exchange rate, and logistics expenses, followed by a real estate slump. Operating profit plummeted from 70.4 billion KRW in 2021 to 14.9 billion KRW in 2022.

To address this poor performance, LX Group Chairman Koo Bon-joon called Han back. After leaving LG Hausys, Han served as CEO of building materials company Hanwha L&C from 2014. During his previous tenure at LG Hausys, he actively partnered with overseas companies to target new markets. He also strengthened B2C (business-to-consumer) sales by launching specialty window stores, boosting profitability. Han reapplied these strategies at LX Hausys to drive a performance turnaround.

After returning, Han initiated a premiumization strategy to increase operating profit margins. LX Hausys reinforced its ultra-premium system window lines such as ‘Euro System 9’, targeting not only luxury residential complexes, resorts, and hotels but also aiming to capture both reconstruction and remodeling markets in multi-family housing (apartments). Additionally, the price of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a key raw material for major products, fell last year compared to the previous year, amplifying the improvement in performance. LX Hausys’s provisional figures for last year show sales and operating profit of 3.5258 trillion KRW and 109.8 billion KRW, respectively. While sales decreased by 2.4% year-on-year, operating profit increased by 635.1%. This operating profit is about 40 billion KRW higher than the 68.8 billion KRW recorded in 2019 before COVID-19.

Han is accelerating efforts to offset the domestic market downturn and expand overseas markets this year. The company plans to target North American and European markets focusing on products with outstanding global competitiveness such as flooring materials, surface materials, and industrial films. This month, LX Hausys participated in ‘TISE 2024’, the largest flooring exhibition in North America, setting up a booth under the concept of ‘a stage where technology meets nature’. LX Hausys plans to increase its participation in global exhibitions compared to last year.

Han said, "We will strengthen our market dominance in the building materials business and transition to a solid profit structure, while actively expanding overseas operations in the automotive materials and parts business to overcome the domestic market downturn."