After losing about $4.5 billion over the past five years, company LG has struggled to compete with its rivals. That's one of the reasons the company is now considering pulling out of the smartphone market.
LG CEO Kwon Bong-seok has informed employees that the company is considering making big changes to its smartphone business.
In an internal memo, Kwon Bong-seok informed his employees on Wednesday, hinting at a change of direction for the company’s smartphone business. “As competition in the global mobile market becomes more intense, it is time for LG to make a cold decision and the best choice,” an LG official said in a statement to The Korea Herald. “The company is considering all possible measures, including selling, withdrawing and downsizing the smartphone business.”
LG confirmed the internal memo in a statement to The Verge, noting that nothing has been decided yet. “LG Electronics is committed to making whatever decisions are necessary to resolve its mobile challenges in 2021,” a company spokesperson says. “As of today, nothing has been finalized.”
This note follows a report from Korean outlet TheElec earlier this month that claimed LG was planning to exit the smartphone business. LG called the report “completely false and without merit” in a statement to Android Police just a week ago.
The company tried many times with the G7, V40, G8, and V50 to compete with Samsung and Huawei, but it wasn't enough to push its market share in the right direction. LG's latest Velvet and Wing smartphones tried something new, but none had the resonance the company wanted.
Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo and Apple continue to dominate the global smartphone market, according to IDC. The company is now turning to its Rollable phone in an attempt to differentiate itself from the competition. LG promised that its Rollable device is real and will be released in 2021, but with the company rethinking its mobile plans, it could be one of the last LG phones to be released.
