You cannot satisfy the Indian consumer with cosmetic changes: Kim Ki Wan

Consumers no longer buy only products, but also concepts, Kim Ki Wan tells Ritwik Sharma

How has the Indian market evolved during the two decades that LG has been present in the country and what are its unique challenges?

If I summarise the 20 years of our existence in India in a word, it’s change. During this period if you compare India with the rest of the world, India has been full of changes. Why do we have to change every year? Because Indian consumers, economics and market are extremely dynamic, and so it’s full of excitement. So, accordingly in terms of product line-up every year it forces our improvement for the best. But from now on, faster change is expected because the lifestyle of Indian consumers is changing rapidly. And very luckily for the people, the leadership of India is very smart and is paving the way for the future with initiatives like demonetisation, the goods and services tax inviting MNCs to invest. The combination of all these things guarantees brighter, more dynamic and faster growth. So, in the last 20 years, as per our slogan of “Life’s good”, we have done our best to improve and enhance the lifestyle of Indian consumers.

What are the major learnings for LG in India? Could you point out factors that have been critical in your journey?

In substance the business across countries is actually the same, though there are small differences. Indian consumers are more serious when it comes to selection of products and services. They are more practical and prudent. So, it’s not easy to satisfy them with cosmetic, temporary changes. In other countries, people consider TVs, refrigerators or mobile phones as commodities. In India they are a part of life, and deeply engaging. Indians are also looking for complete solutions, including services, installation, after-sales. If you look back on the 20 years, there have been many ups and downs. Nobody expected Nokia, which had more than 80 per cent market share, to disappear. What is the learning from such cases? Fortunately, our founder shared the value that if we learn to change forever it creates value for the customer. It’s our obligation with a very humble and modest attitude to listen carefully to consumers, their insight. It’s our habit and everyday life. Owing to that we come up with relevant technology and function in products. As a result, Indian consumers love LG. That’s why we could grow every year and are now positioned as a very trusted, reliable, responsible and a national brand in India.

Is LG looking at a strategic shift in introducing health- and environment-friendly products and leading innovation?

Yes, there are many branches to fulfil our main principles, but through our internal discussion we came to address two categories — first is health and second, energy saving. We have lots of technologies. But in terms of product planning we put these two elements first. All our products are equipped and incorporated with health-conscious functions. For instance, all refrigerators look the same, but ours prevents the food from drying up. So we are offering health-conscious products including air and water purifiers at affordable prices. The second area is energy saving. You know about the dual inverter air-conditioners (LG recently shifted its entire line of split ACs to inverter ACs). The demand for these ACs has turned out to be much higher than our sales plans.

What kind of a market do you see for smart appliances in India?

We have studied this aspect for several years in our R&D labs. So, technology-wise we are ready. And LG is recognised for its smart technology, including not only Internet of Things (IoT) but also standalone robots. If you visit Korea you can see LG robots working at airports like human beings. We are developing robot toys. But IoT functions are incorporated in existing washing machines and refrigerators too. But now we are talking with the telecom giants about that. Consumers buy IoT refrigerators and washing machines in two ways, by either going to the LG shop or to the telecom shop. In India, the telecom network infrastructure is not ready yet.

Where do you see the next phase of growth coming from for consumer durables in India?

In Korea, a one-person household is already popular and even in restaurants people are served in tables with single chairs. India is different. But people in India are now moving increasingly to metro cities and have smaller families. We are now researching in order to come up with products to support such families. And not as standalone products because consumers buy concepts. If you have a 200 square metre house, you are not selling 49-inch TVs but concepts. So this is the way ahead.