Jae Bae, LG Electronics' EVP for Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Commonwealth of Independent States, talks to the Show Daily about the challenge of catering to individual market segments and its new Black Label series
Show Daily: What are the key products LG is going to feature at CommunicAsia‾
Jae Bae: LG's Chocolate Phone is definitely the highlight of the show. The Chocolate phone is the first product in the 'Black Label' series, which sets the standard for mobile design and technology. This combination of a simple, sleek, stylish design and cutting-edge technology makes the Chocolate phone our flagship product.
The Chocolate Phone's launch is significant for us because it will advance our position in the global retail market. By focusing more on direct communication with customers, we expect to position LG as the brand that customers trust and choose above all others. LG will also exhibit its mobile broadcast products including SDMB, TDMB, DVB-H phones, 3G and GSM phones, as well as HSDPA and music phones.
What pushed LG to introduce the Chocolate series‾
Recent consumer trends indicate that aesthetic and emotional factors play a role in mobile phone purchases. In other words, consumers are choosing handsets to reflecting their personalities, styles and attitudes rather than simply choosing the latest model with the most functions. LG's mobile products in the Black Label series target these attributes, and still provide the cutting-edge technology LG is known for around the world. The Chocolate phone is the first model in the Black Label series and we expect to bring a second model to the market later this year.
The Chocolate phone was launched in Europe in early May. In just three weeks, we sold over 500,000 units. Obviously, consumer demand for this phone is high. It became the top seller at Carphone Warehouse, the largest handset chain in Europe, soon after its launch.
In the next two years, what features do you expect will become increasingly popular for mobile users‾
Mobile convergence is already a major mobile trend. Mobile phones are not just for making phone calls anymore, but are personal portable devices with multimedia and Internet services that can be used anywhere, anytime. As an industry trendsetter, LG Mobile has already developed and commercialized convergence handsets such as camera/camcorder phones, MMS phones, 3D game phones, PDA phones and IM phones. The latest development in convergence is the integration of broadcasting and multimedia features into the mobile TV phone. It has quickly become a huge success in test markets. More and more, people will be able to enjoy watching TV, shopping and playing 3D online games on their phones.
Are you confident that you will retain your No. 4 ranking or move up to third place this year‾
We are more than confident about further business growth this year. In Q1 this year, we maintained the No. 4 spot in the worldwide mobile industry. Through the release of the Chocolate phone, LG Mobile is aggressively pursuing related markets as well as operators. We strongly believe that our entrance into the open markets will help us to expand our business further this year.