LG Electronics bites into its rivals' LCD market share

LG Electronics Romania, local subsidiary of the South-Korean manufacturer of electronics, home appliances and IT products, increased its market share on the LCD TV segment by 5% in the first quarter of the year, to 24%. The rise on the plasma TV segment amounted to 2%, with the company’s share climbing from 38% to 40% in the first quarter of the year, according to company officials. They did not offer details on the number of units sold, but specified that, after a weak start in January, TV sales doubled in March against the similar period of last year. According to LG, the Romanian LCD market saw 432,000 units sold, compared with 232,000 units in 2007. Samsung Electronics, one of LG’s main rivals, announced similar estimates of the Romanian LCD market (420,000/ 230,000). Sorin Spinu, sales manager within LG Romania’s Home Entertainment division, believes the market will see a rise in 2009, although the advance will not be as spectacular as in preceding years. “The TV set is not an item that you cannot do without, but it has become trendy, especially the LCD segment. There is no reason why the market should not to see a rise,” he said.