|
SEOUL: South Korea’s LG Electronics said Tuesday it may have to
cut its handset prices if global leader Nokia moves first to do so.
LG’s share price fell sharply this week amid
market talk that Nokia may cut its prices for select cell phone
models by up to 20 percent to grab some customers away from US rival
Motorola.
The speculation fueled worries that South Korean
handset makers may be forced to follow suit at the expense of
profitability.
“Price competition is inevitable unless we can
create a unique value to differentiate [our products] from Nokia’s,”
LG Electronics vice chairman and CEO Nam Yong told reporters.
“That’s the market principle. [But] we will
try to attract new customers with competitive products rather than
cheap prices,” he said.
LG took over Sony Ericsson’s place as the
world’s fourth-largest handset maker in the first quarter.
Nam said LG’s handset business will be able to
post more than a 10- percent operating profit margin in the second
quarter.
“Our priority is the premium market. Once we
build a presence in the segment, then we move to the low-end handset
market. This is how we will preserve our solid profit base,” he
said.
-- AFP
|
