LG Electronics will more than double its level of investment in 2024; putting $8 billion into R&D and other critical areas to strengthen competitiveness, moving forward.

 

High-growth and high-profit core businesses will also see larger investment in 2024, said LG CEO William Cho, who along with key company executives introduced the strategies LG is implementing to achieve its ‘Future Vision 2030’ goal, during a press conference held for Korean media in Las Vegas, Nevada, US. 

 

These include B2B businesses, such as vehicle components, HVAC, built-in appliances and digital signage, as well as the webOS platform business. LG will continue to invest in new businesses, such as electric vehicle (EV) charging and robotics, and has already announced plans to invest more than $ 40 billion by 2030 to transform its portfolio for qualitative business growth.

 

Inorganic growth opportunities

Furthermore, beginning this year, LG will actively seek inorganic growth opportunities, such as mergers, acquisitions and partnerships, in addition to adopting strategies designed to invigorate its internal growth engines. Emphasis will also be placed on game-changing areas of technology that add customer value, such as AI and mixed reality (MR). 

 

Meanwhile, LG has identified three major inflection points – electrification, servitisation and digitalisation – that will ultimately reshape business and the customer experience.

 

The company aims to overcome challenges, such as persistent market and supply chain uncertainties, and accelerate growth by building a high-performance, results-oriented organisation with a winning spirit, 

 

“If 2023 was the year in which we set the direction for new changes, we will make 2024 the year in which we truly accelerate these changes,” said Cho. “Future Vision 2030 is our promise to the market and to our customers, and we will strive as a company to deliver on this promise.” 

 

Announced by the CEO last year, Future Vision 2030 is LG’s long-term goal to transform into ‘Smart Life Solution Company’ that can connect and expand the customer experience across various spaces, including home, commercial, mobility and virtual.

 

Strengthening future competitiveness

Cho set ‘Break through Limits’ as the key phrase for, and underlying philosophy of the company’s management policy in 2024. Having already established three focus areas for future growth – a non-hardware business model, B2B expansion and the development of new businesses – LG will now make an all-out effort to further refine its portfolio. 

 

To start with, the company will maximise the potential of its future growth engines by expanding investment based on the strategic priorities of the business. 

 

The CEO identified the newly established Overseas Sales and Marketing Company as a valuable asset for helping LG “break through limits.” Already playing an important role in LG’s global success, the new organisation accounted for approximately two-thirds of the company’s total sales. The Overseas Sales and Marketing Company implements specialised strategies that take into consideration the unique characteristics of each region and market. Its efforts have maximised the performance of the business, worldwide, and have played a significant role in strengthening the capabilities and growth of LG’s international subsidiaries.

 

Achieving ‘Triple Seven’ goals for growth, profit and value

With platform-based service businesses, the B2B business and new businesses as its three, main growth engines, the company aims to reach its goal of ‘Triple Seven’: an average growth rate and operating profit of seven percent or more, as well as enterprise value that translates to an EBITDA ratio of seven.

 

Last year, despite a decline in market demand, the company performed impressively thanks to the growth of its B2B business. Over the past five years, the compound annual growth rate of LG’s B2B businesses has easily exceeded double digits, with the average annual growth rate of overall sales reaching around eight percent.

 

The Vehicle component Solutions (VS) Company has likewise emerged as a key business for LG, achieving annual sales of $8 billion in its 10th year of existence. The global transition to EVs is expected to increase the demand for high-value EV parts, one of the VS Company’s core areas of expertise.

 

Based on the three pillars of in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), e-powertrains and vehicular lamps, the VS Company is projected to enjoy continuous, rapid growth. From 2024, it will focus primarily on securing software-defined vehicle capabilities, expanding its EV parts customer-base, and strengthening its leadership in smart lamps. To respond to the increasing number of new orders, the company will invest in boosting production capacity in Central America, South America and Europe. 

 

HVAC business

The HVAC business, another important part of LG’s B2B portfolio, is growing quickly in emerging markets such as Asia and Central and South America, while in advanced markets, including Europe and North America – where demand for high-efficiency, eco-friendly products is strong – it continues to uncover new opportunities.

 

LG’s HVAC business aims to leverage the competitiveness of its technologically advanced components, such as motors and compressors, to expand its product lineup. After establishing a consortium for advanced heat pump research in Alaska, US, last November, LG plans to build an R&D base in Europe this year. The company also intends to broaden its business with the introduction of differentiated air conditioning products, such as the Dedicated Outdoor Air System.

 

Recognising that B2B companies are impacted less directly by the economy than B2C companies, LG is actively bolstering its B2B business as a means to maintain sales and profit stability. The company has announced plans for the expansion of its B2B businesses, and is seeking to raise sales volume to more than $32 billion (double the current level) by 2030 through launching a variety of new, value-added solutions. 

 

Overall business model

LG will also fast-track the evolution of its overall business model, entering non-hardware areas, such as content, services and subscriptions, to complement its existing product-centric home appliance and TV companies. Leveraging the hundreds of millions of LG products already in use around the world as ‘platforms,’ the company expects to generate continuous sales and profits.

 

In line with this shift in business direction, the Home Entertainment (HE) Company aims to become a media and entertainment platform company and accelerate the growth of its webOS platform business. The HE Company is rapidly reinforcing the foundations of its platform business by expanding the webOS ecosystem to include smart monitors, IVI systems, and other TV makers. LG expects the webOS platform business to become one of the most potential growth engines in the near future.

 

The Home Appliance and Air Solution (H&A) Company, whose success is playing a preeminent role in supporting LG’s organisation-wide transformation, is also developing a smart home solution business that combines services and subscriptions. The H&A Company’s ultimate goal is to deliver on its ‘Zero Labor Home, Makes Quality Time’ vision, which goes beyond home appliances to make homelife smarter and more convenient than ever. 

 

The subscription business, encompassing ‘daily’ services that augment LG’s home appliance products, has been growing at a fast pace in South Korea. The overseas expansion of the subscription business is underway, with strategic markets in Asia the first outside of Korea to experience its many benefits. 

 

Non-hardware business

The percentage of LG’s total sales accounted for by its non-hardware businesses – such as the webOS platform-based content and service business, and the home appliance subscription business – has more than doubled over the past five years. 

 

Additionally, LG will aggressively promote the commercialisation of intangible assets, such as its standard essential patents in critical areas of technology including communications, media, mobility and IoT connectivity. And, during its recent reorganisation, the company established new business entities to commercialise its know-how in the construction of smart factories.

 

Moreover, LG will secure growth opportunities offering high potential and a high degree of business synergy. As a prime example, LG NOVA will increase its startup promotion fund to more than $100 million by the end of 2024, enabling the company to help discover new technologies and solutions to drive future innovation, and to lead new business segments. 

 

LG’s recently created EV charging business is emerging as a comprehensive EV charging solutions provider, boasting advanced charging units and control solutions, remote diagnosis and servicing capabilities, as well as vehicle battery diagnosis and robust manufacturing and sales infrastructure. Entering the North American market, the company has completed the construction of a charger production line in Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.A. 

 

Digital healthcare

In the digital healthcare segment, the company is expanding its telemedicine business in cooperation with Amwell, and will also review the viability of offering services in areas such as prevention, diagnosis, post-management and recovery. In virtual reality, another promising business area, LG is preparing for the commercialisation of MR devices. At the end of 2023, the company established an eXtended Reality business unit within the HE Company, and is continuing to collaborate on augmented reality solutions with various technology partners. 

 

In addition, the company’s Chief Technology Office(CTO), which leads the development of future technologies, is conducting intensive R&D programs to strengthen business competitiveness and discover new core technologies. In particular, the CTO is focusing on eight areas of technology: software, system on chip, AI, robotics, materials and parts, standards, next-generation computing and cloud/data. 

 

Accelerating DX through data-driven practices

Through digital transformation (DX), LG will provide customers with FUN – First, Unique and New – experiences, and further enhance its customer-centric management system. 

 

The company is making large-scale IT investments to establish DX across the entire organisation. On top of this, LG is building N-ERP, or Next-generation Enterprise Resource Planning, to seamlessly integrate and link the company’s business processes and systems. Intellytics Customer 360, a customer data platform that enables integrated management of data gathered from diverse customer contact points, will be rolled out globally from this year. 

 

LG’s DX efforts extend beyond the innovation of the customer experience to the improvement of value chain efficiency; from purchasing and manufacturing to delivery and sales. Last year, by applying DX to each value chain, LG raised productivity and efficiency to the value of more than $240 million. 

 

Transforming into a high-performing organisation

When speaking with employees, Cho often quotes noted American management scholar, Peter Drucker: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” The CEO truly believes that a strong organisational culture is essential to turning strategy into good performance.

 

During his ‘CEO FUN Talk’ with employees last December, Cho outlined the company’s vision for 2024, which includes becoming a high-performing organisation. He stated: “To accomplish this, we need to intricately connect our mission, vision and goals, and have a relentless focus on execution.”

 

United under the brand promise of Life’s Good, a variety of integrated brand activities, spanning marketing, ESG and CSR, will be initiated starting this year. The company will spread the values and philosophy that underpin Life’s Good with the spirit of a brave optimist, while also infusing the brand with a youthful dynamism. 

 

A self-professed ‘brave optimist,’ LG is an innovator that daringly faces difficulties, believes in pursuing opportunities for improvement, even during tough times, and finds solutions by listening and paying attention to its customers and the market.--TradeArabia News Service