LG plans aggressive sales for OLED signage products in B2B sector

South Korea’s LG Electronics is planning a big push for its organic light-emitting diode (OLED) commercial display products in 2016 to gain higher sales traction in the business-to-business (B2B) sector. Backed by the expertise of sister company LG Display, it will leverage all the new technological advances made by its affiliate.

Growth plan

“LG Electronics will launch a full-fledged effort in the OLED digital signs business starting next year,” a top official of LG said.

The plan also entails expansion of the wider product portfolio, starting from large signs at public places including international airports, the official added, reports Korea Times.

LG Display commands a substantial market share in OLED display market, thanks to its lead at the technology front. For better growth, it is planning to channel more investments into the B2B sector to complement its consumer electronics devices in televisions and smart phones.

German Fair

During the IFA 2015 in Germany - the largest electronics fair in Europe, the company showcased its expanding digital sign sales as part of the push in the OLED display, noted LG Electronics TV chief, Kwon Bong-seok

The company’s strategy will be to fortify its premium brand image in the OLED display technology. To strengthen the sign lineup, LG will be adding more to the 2-milimeter-thin video wall products and digital signs equipped with LG Electronics' device operating system, Web OS.

“Our new OLED products will include wide ones in the form of video walls, too,” the LG Electronics official said.

Strategy

Staying away from price wars while retaining the edge in competition, through 2018, LG Display is planning to pump at least US$8.47 billion (AU$11.88 billion) into OLED displays such as TVs and flexible screens for smartphones and wearables, Reuters reports.

In the meantime, LG will also try to expand OLED applications into signage and automobiles, while expanding the spending to premium liquid crystal display or LCD products.

The report noted that both LG Display and sister firm LG Electronics Inc have emerged as the biggest proponents of OLED, whose market will be worth US$28.3 billion (AU$38.64 billion) by 2022 from the US$8.7 billion (AU$11.88 billion) it was in 2014.

Gestation period

Meanwhile, analysts expect more penetration time on the part of LG Electronics for OLED signs in B2B, especially in wider applications such as bus stop information systems.

One barrier is the high costs of OLEDs compared to liquid crystal displays. It is likely that the company will take more time to get results while driving up the acceptance in the B2B sector and making it a major income generator.

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