By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
LG Electronics, a leading manufacturer of home appliances, expects to post $500 million in sales in Vietnam in 2012 by strengthening brand recognition of electronic goods from washers to refrigerators there.
Given an estimated $300 million in sales this year in one of Asia’s most lucrative markets, the revised figure is achievable enough, company officials say.
``We are positive about achieving the goal thanks to rising demand for digital products there, while injecting more money to promote premium gadgets,’’ an LG official said Sunday.
The expectations came after the South Korean electronics giant won a grand prize at the ``Vietnam Quality Award 2007’’ thanks to high marks in such fields as strategic planning, market understanding and production management activities.
Since its inception in 1995, the award has given foreign companies prestige and a chance to promote their products in Vietnam, according to organizers.
``Brighter market prospects in the handset sector will offset growing worries over falling average selling prices of key electronic products,’’ the official added. ASP is a key indicator measuring profitability.
According to industry sources, Vietnam’s digital product market is expected to reach $3.9 billion in 2008, up 25 percent from 2007, while the mobile phone sales are estimated to reach more than $1.1 billion.
This year, sales of electronic home appliances in Vietnam including LCDs and plasma TV sets are estimated to increase about 20 percent. In particular, sales of mobile phones are expected to jump by nearly 30 percent, buoyed by falling prices in recent months.
LG Electronics entered the Vietnamese market by opening a TV factory in Hanoi in 1996 and its Vietnamese subsidiary has posted double-digit sales gains in air-conditioners, DVD players and flat-panel TV sets on strong marketing drives.