LG might exit the smartphone business and it’s already in talks with potential suitors to buy its unit. After yesterday’s reports of LG‘s internal memo informing staffers of this step, Korean dailies are reporting today that the company might sell the smartphone segment to a Vietnamese conglomerate, VinGroup.
According to Business Korea, VinGroup has the most attractive offer on the table for the Korean tech giant’s phone business. The Vietnamese group already produces LG‘s phones as an Original Design Manufacturer (ODM). It’s the third-largest phone maker in Vietnam after Samsung and Oppo.
As Korea Times reported yesterday, continuous losses are one of the prime reasons why LG wants to offload its mobile unit — it has suffered a slump for 23 quarters straight. The company has expended over $4.2 billion in that period in operating losses.
LG has been a longstanding Android device maker, and it has given us some memorable hits including the Nexus 5 and its G series of phones. Lately, the firm has been exploring more unique designs, such as the LG Wing and the upcoming LG Rollable. While we marvel at these limited edition phones, the sad reality is that they haven’t helped float LG’s business for a while now.
Even if the Korean tech giant withdraws from the business, devices under that label might not go away. We will possibly see a couple of models every year — just like other fallen smartphone brands such as HTC and Blackberry.
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Published January 21, 2021 — 05:33 UTC