LG sees global crunch as best time to expand

CEBU, Philippines - While other businesses are holding back investment plans amidst the global financial crisis, LG Electronics sees this time as the perfect opportunity to expand and serve more of their products to the public, thus the opening of their new branch in Cebu recently which is the first-ever branch in Visayas.

 LG Electronics is a global leader in terms of producing consumer electronics like home entertainment products, household appliances and a wide selection of cellular phones.

Woody Nam, the president of LG Electronics Asia, shared that despite the financial turmoil, the company continued to post positive growth with 18 percent increase in market sales from last year’s two percent increase.

Nam said it was all about perfect timing and the strategies they did to serve customers better and market the products they have.

This year, LG reportedly ranks third in the production of electronics in the Philippines, which was made possible by offering products specified with both design and technology that the company said gives them the edge over other products from other companies in the same field.

Nam shared that they want to reach the “uncompromising seekers” who do not want to compromise between design and technology, and want both of two worlds.

Raymond Hernandez, the corporate marketing head of the company, said that admittedly their presence in Cebu is not that strong yet but they are very optimistic that through their first branch in Cebu, they would be able to reach out to more people and introduce their products that have been known all over.

Hernandez said that this 2009 is the perfect year for them to invest and expand and they see a strong growth, especially in Visayas and in Cebu. LG has been catering to the whole area through their offices in Manila but said that the new office in Cebu is aimed at satisfying more of their customer’s needs in the Visayas region.

Manufacturing facilities, aside from their main office in Korea, are also nearby that could produce the increasing demand of their products like in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Aside from this strategy, Hernandez said that in coming up with their products, they assure that they listen to their customers’ needs and they research and produce the best technology and the best design to be offered.

With this, the company aims to be number one by 2010 and increase their total electronic market production to 30 percent.

Aside from being a global company, Hernandez said that their advantage is anchored on their wide array of products.

“At the end of the day, we want to offer to our consumers all that they need. We have everything,” added Hernandez who shared that household utilities such as air conditioners, vacuum cleaners among others have also increased in sales.

But he said that their cellphone products have been a big hit to the public recently which is one of the products that they are focusing on.

Chief Sales Officer Rey Flores said that as the “texting capital in Asia ,” they see how the people anticipate this kind of technology reason for them to strengthen their promotion of their wide array of cellular phones.

Flores said that they offer competitive prices, but ensure that their main focus is on the good quality of the products which is what the consumers these days are looking for.

The LG Cebu Branch, found in 45 Capitol West Building, Escario corner Gil Garcia Sts., will also operate as a service center with their highly trained experts in restoring all LG products. 

Also, LG is aiming to also put up another branch in Davao assuring that they are continually serving more business partners and consumers who are seeking for their “stylish and technologically advanced products.”