Electronic firm LG eyes bigger market share

LG Electronics - General Manager Marketing Moses Marji

NAIROBI, KENYA: LG recently launched its signature OLED (organic light-emitting diode) TV in a bid to gain an upper hand in the premium segment. LG Electronics General Manager Marketing Moses Marji talked to Financial Standard about the firm eyeing the bigger Kenyan market.

What are some of the trends and preferences affecting the consumer technology industry?

Customers want to have comfortable lifestyle and save time. To achieve that, they look for products that can accomplish this goal - be it for individual purpose or for companies to make work faster. Taking this in consideration, LG Electronics made sure we introduce products that cater for both aspects, which made LG the leader in electronics renovation. This is meant to make customers lives comfortable.

 There has been significant development in smart TV technology. Where is the industry headed? How does LG fit in this ecosystem?

 The development in the TV smart technology happened for both hardware and software technologies, and LG Electronics is a leader in both aspects. When it comes to hardware, LGElectronics has the latest technology in OLED TV where every pixel can self-light and turn off individually.  This technology enabled us to have perfect black and other colours are clear and vivid.   We also introduced Nano Cell technology which is better than any competing TV in the market when it comes to Super UHD category. LG is concerned about the environment which means quality and environment friendly products. On Software, LG introduced in 2018 Artificial Intelligent TV using Alpha 9, where the TV can recognise the order or questions asked by the user and give a reply or answer. This TV is available in 14 languages and it is coming to Kenya. We are sure we can use the technology here as well as once the internet and proper environment is available for this. Our TVs are easy to use and comfortable to the user.

How important is the Kenyan market to LG with its diverse consumer tech products?

What is interesting about LG Electronics is its decentralisation, which means each area globally and reach has a management that takes care of it under LGE. In East Africa, which include 16 countries, the headquarter is in Kenya, which can give you the indication of Kenya’s importance to LGE. The Kenyan market is developing faster than others, and the customer’ buying behaviour is changing rapidly. We have keen focus in the market to provide customers with the latest technology that they are looking forward to having.

How can manufacturers of internet-enabled home appliances ensure their products provide convenience while safeguarding uses’ data security and privacy?

 One of the issues that are important to LGE is the privacy of our customers. LG TV does not allow any collection of customers data. Same security measures that are coming from internet provider being used in mobile phone or laptop is as well used for Smart TVs.

What are some of the challenges facing manufacturers and vendors of consumer tech, especially in the current age of consumer awareness and regulator pressures?

Since LGE thrives on Integrity in every aspect, it is a leader in making sure we have the highest standards worldwide when it comes to our products. This means LGE is a leading factor in transparency and is very transparent about its products to the customers and regulators. This means we don’t face challenges, and we promote proper regulations to protect our customers.

What is the progress in the fight against counterfeits and what are some loopholes that facilitate the proliferation of the same?

We are facing a challenge when it comes to counterfeits, so we offered two-year warranty where we can tell the customers that If you are buying an LG product, it comes with two-year warranty and customers make sure it comes from LG Electronics officially. On some occasions, customs contact us to ascertain if a certain shipment is not an LG product.

What policies can the State and regulators put in place to ensure the cost of consumer technology products become more accessible to low-income earners??

We are making efforts to be cost efficient when it comes to producing our products. This helps reduce the end user price in regard to accessibility. LGE has a range of models , from high-end where customers can afford to products suitable for their budget. A State can put friendly regulations to importing electronics but we don’t have  issues with government regulations.