LG is a huge company, a Multi-National Corporation. It competes with Sony and Samsung in almost every field- two companies that have practically captured every market they have ventured in. In the mobile section, while Sony is not a force, Samsung has gained grounds that even the company itself might have not thought of.
Once, Nokia was the phone brand. With Apple and Android gaining grounds that became a thing of past. Now, we have a plethora of vendors each vying for a place in the smartphone arena being dominated by heavyweights like Samsung and Apple.
LG is one of the company that is also part of the spectrum. In India, LG’s image as a smartphone manufacturer is not very distinguished. I don’t remember seeing many LG phones during the Nokia era and even after that, Samsung simply captured the whole slice. Sony with its Walkman series and Cybershot (camera) series was in the limelight, but LG was one of the silent players in that comparison.
In fact, let me ask you a question, if you have say Rs. 30000, will you go and buy an LG phone without hesitation or without looking at other phones first. I know many of you will say that you will do the same with Samsung as well. Who buys without looking at the options as well.
But will an LG phone be anyone’s first instinct. I believe no.
That was before an LG phone that sold like anything – Nexus 4. Let’s be honest about one thing- Nexus did not sell because it was an LG phone, it sold despite being an LG phone. The phone’s charisma lay in the Google backing it had. With its previous Nexus phones, Google had already created a brand and Nexus 4 carried the wave.
Many people who wanted to buy the Nexus were skeptical about it being an LG phone but the advantages of owning a Nexus won many of them (including yours truly). With Nexus 5, LG now has two Nexus in its bag and both have sold really well for the company.
This is just half of the picture however. The second half is the flagship series of LG- the G2 and the G3. Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 are both based on these two phones and as Google Flagship phones succeeded, so did the LG flagship gained recognition. People who are happy with Nexus, now with confidence, can promote the brand LG as well.
Anyone who has used their after sales services (I haven’t yet) and has been satisfied will not hesitate in buying any other LG phone as well and because Nexus created so many LG consumers, it opened a door for LG that gave it the edge that pushed it over companies like HTC.
In fact, LG’s phone business has turned profitable in Q2 with a 20% increase in smartphone sales, shipping 14.5 million smartphones. If LG can continue to hold on to Nexus series for say a couple of more handsets and leverage its own smartphones and marketing properly, the company has the potential to become the top company.
One thing I need to point out though – Smartphone market in India is going through a churn with new players like Xiaomi, Gionee and resurgent Motorola now aggressively pushing themselves. LG will need to have strategy to beat these new players as well!
What is your opinion? Do you think Nexus changed people’s perspective about LG or it is still Nexus phones and LG phones for most people?
Yes, I for one would have never bought an LG phone, but I did so, Own a Nexus 4 & 5