LG to challenge 12% share of Taiwan handset market in 2009

Although forecasting handsets sales in Taiwan to decline to 6 million units in 2009, the Korea-based LG Electronics, a globally leading brand of consumer electronics, is determined to boost its market share in Taiwan to 12% from 10% in sales volume in 2009, according to LG Taiwan.

Taiwanese retailers have suffered handset sales declines in 2008, and even found the deterioration has been getting more serious starting November of the year. Consequently, annual sales in the market may drop to only 6.5 million units in 2008 and will even fall under 6 million units in 2009, when single-month sales value may decline to less than NT$2 billion.

Despite the market turning gloomy, LG, spending two years deploying its business operations in the market, aggressively plans to boost its handset sales to 750,000 units in 2009, up 15% from 650,000 units to be realized in 2008, driving up its market share to 12% from 10%.

LG Taiwan indicated that LG has launched 25 new mobile phones in Taiwan in 2008, with 3G models accounting for about 60%. The brand is going to boost the figures to 30 new models and 80%, ranging from entry-level to high-end 3G models, respectively, in 2009 to push up sales volume and sales value in the market.

In addition to its newly unveiled KC910 touch phone, which features a built-in 8 megapixel camera and 3-inch touch screen as a competing model against Apple's iPhone 3G, LG is scheduled to launch its second edition Prada smartphone in 2009.

Besides, LG Taiwan stressed that LG will continue to focus on development of both smartphones based on Google's Android platform and on Nokia's Symbian, in a bid to retain profitability of high-end handsets to counter the global economic recession.

Source & Copyright: CENS