LG Electronics Inc, the world’s second-largest maker of liquid-crystal-display (LCD) televisions, aims to boost its market share this year by introducing new models.
The electronics maker is targeting to capture a more than 16 percent share of all televisions sold worldwide this year, Havis Kwon, head of the company’s TV division, told reporters in Seoul yesterday. LG had a share of about 12 percent last year, according to Seye Im, a company spokesman.
LG introduced its first 3D TV that uses a new technology yesterday as part of a plan to gain market share this year and narrow the gap with market leader Samsung Electronics Co to as little as 3 percentage points, Kwon said. TV manufacturers are adding features such as 3D functionality and Web-based services to revive sales by luring consumers to replace their old models.
Shipments of LCD TVs in the US probably fell last year for the first time amid weak economic indicators such as consumer confidence and unemployment, IHS ISuppli, a research company in El Segundo, California, said in December.
LG aims to sell 40 million units of flat-screen TVs this year, the electronics maker’s parent company said on Dec. 28, without providing a figure for last year. Samsung, the world’s top TV maker, previously said it’s targeting sales of 45 million flat-panel TVs this year.
Samsung had an 18 percent market share of the global TV market at the end of September, according to Nam Ki Yung, a company spokesman.
LG is introducing 3D TVs using its latest Film Patterned Retarder, or FPR, technology featuring the use of glasses that it says are lighter, more comfortable and lead to less eye strain.
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