[CES 2023] LG CEO touts customer value as key to success

LG Electronics Chief Executive Officer Cho Joo-wan delivers his keynote speech at the LG press conference on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Wednesday. (LG Electronics)

LAS VEGAS -- LG Electronics Chief Executive Officer Cho Joo-wan underscored the company’s commitment to its “customer-centric vision” at the world's largest home appliance convention Wednesday, highlighting that the key to the tech giant’s successes lies in the customers.

During the LG World Premiere press conference held on the sidelines of CES in Las Vegas, the CEO shared the company’s continuous efforts to pursue innovation to improve people's lives of people and ensure a sustainable future.

“In the past three years, we faced many challenges but we were able to overcome them all, because we uphold the principle that the answer always lies in with the customers,” Cho said in front of some 1,000 reporters, industry officials and other general attendees at the event.

"The start and end of all innovation are our consumers, and it is with this innovation that we aim to put a smile on their faces.”

He especially pointed to LG’s leadership in organic light-emitting diode TVs, a premium TV market the company opened 10 years ago, saying the high-end TVs have “completely changed the experience of watching TV.”

At this year’s CES, LG unveiled its new OLED evo TV, which has advanced the brightness of its previous model by 70 percent while reducing reflection and screen glare.

Cho also shed light on the company’s vehicle component solutions business, which has grown enough to present itself as a competitive partner for automotive companies.

“LG has joined hands with some of the world's most recognizable auto brands, leveraging its customer insight from consumer electronics, advanced technologies and diverse areas of expertise to drive the in-vehicle experience forward,” Cho said.

The LG chief underscored the company's pursuit of advanced technology, citing its latest home appliance brand LG ThinQ UP, which allows users to add new features via software updates. The company recently announced it would expand the brand in overseas markets, starting with the US this year.

Cho said LG's key goal is to provide users with “first,” “unique” and “new” experiences of home appliances through its products.

As part of efforts to expand products and services categories, LG operates in-house accelerator programs to foster company-in-company ventures to encourage employees to develop innovative business items, Cho said. It also runs LG Labs, a project the employees can participate to experiment with innovative products and ideas.

Brid.zzz, a sleep care solution that records brain waves and creates musical beats that help users relax, and Pluspot, a service platform that offers rewards to the user when they mount their personal transportation, such as electric bicycles and electric kickboards, on its wireless charging stations, have also been presented at the trade show.

During the press conference, Tom Ryan, the president and chief executive officer of Paramount Streaming, also appeared to expound on its collaboration with LG in their joint efforts to expand their content services.

"Pluto TV, the leading free streaming television service, is expanding our channel integration for LG Channels, adding over 100 channels this quarter globally,” Ryan said.

By Jo He-rim(herim@heraldcorp.com)