LG’s Viewty crosses 5Mn mark (South Korea)
The world’s fourth-biggest mobile handset manufacturer, LG Electronics said that the sales of its strategic touch-based “Viewty” mobile phones surpassed the five million mark. Viewty made its debut in October 2007. The overwhelming performance is attributed to its key European and North American markets. LG sold 2.6 million Viewty units in Europe during the period. “Sales have reached 4.65 million and 350,000 in overseas and local markets, respectively, thus far,” spokesman Park Seung-koo said. LG is planning to the low-end handset market in the first half of this year, to compete with bigger rivals such as Nokia in emerging markets.
The company is aiming to introduce a mid-tier key flagship model with a sales target of over 10 million this year. Mobile chief, Ahn Seung-kwon, recently said his division is now increasing its number of outlets, with improved product images.
“We will be more aggressive, albeit selectively, in marketing our key strategic models, to maintain the premium image on our products and to increase the likelihood of success in the low-tier market,” another LG spokesman said.
LG is anticipated to have achieved its annual target of 100 million handsets last year, in comparison with 80.5 million in 2007.
