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LG Electronics to wind down mobile business, becoming the first major smartphone brand to withdraw from global market

  • LG Electronic’s smartphone division has had six years of losses totalling US$4.5 billion
  • The company’s smartphone division is expected to be wound down by July 31, 2021

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A show attendee passes by the LG Electronics booth during the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo: Reuters
Reuters

South Korea’s LG Electronics said on Monday it will wind down its loss-making mobile division – a move that is set to make it the first major smartphone brand to completely withdraw from the market.

Its decision to pull out will leave its 10 per cent share in North America, where it is the No 3 brand, to be gobbled up by smartphone titans Apple and Samsung Electronics.

The division has logged nearly six years of losses totalling some US$4.5 billion, and dropping out of the fiercely competitive sector would allow LG to focus on growth areas such as electric vehicle components, connected devices and smart homes, it said in a statement.

LG Electronics’ dual screen phone, the LG Velvet, launched in 2020 failed to gain traction. Photo: Handout
LG Electronics’ dual screen phone, the LG Velvet, launched in 2020 failed to gain traction. Photo: Handout

In better times, LG was early to market with a number of mobile phone innovations including ultra-wide angle cameras and was once in 2013 the world’s third-largest smartphone manufacturer behind Samsung and Apple.

But later, its flagship models suffered from both software and hardware mishaps which combined with slower software updates saw the brand steadily slip in favour. Analysts have also criticised the company for lack of expertise in marketing compared to Chinese brands.

Currently its global share is only about 2 per cent. It shipped 23 million phones last year which compares with 256 million for Samsung, according to research provider Counterpoint.

In addition to North America, it does have a sizeable presence in Latin America, where it ranks as the No 5 brand.

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