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MagyarLG's smartphone division records losses in Q3 2017
The average selling price of smartphones has seen a 7% rise over the past year, with the logical implication being that manufacturers make more money from sales. Not LG, though, as the company has posted its sales figures for Q3, with its smartphone division, once again, recording significant losses.
LG's smartphone business model has been all over the place in the past few years, with bad business decisions and a history of poor Quality Assurance hampering a brand with the potential to stand amongst the very best in the industry. The company's mobile division recorded losses of US$117 million in Q2, a situation the South Korean giants blamed on the poor sales of the G6. It's a bit hard to take that seriously, though, when one realizes the company chose to release the flagship months before the competition, which of course meant it had to run on last-gen hardware. The G5, for all the potential it had, also fell flat on its face commercially.
The losses accrued by LG's smartphone division amount to a whopping US$331.37 million, which is the highest amount recorded by any of the company's divisions. LG will take solace in the fact that it's still slightly better than the US$380 million loss it recorded in Q3 2016—an underwhelming case of silver linings on clouds.
LG released the V30 and Q6 over the past few months but the former has been marred by—admittedly exaggerated—reports of issues with its display, and the latter is unknown to most. It's safe to conclude that sales figures aren't earth-shaking at the moment. Previous LG flagships have consistently seen drops of over 30% in price a few months after launch and that is the biggest indication of the problems that beset the smartphone arm of a company sitting at the very apex of the electronics industry.
LG's smartphone division must look towards a remodeling and re-defining of strategies if it's to become the commercial juggernaut it can be. Perhaps a quick peek at its friendly neighborhood blue-colored rivals?
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