Kwang Ro Kim: Can Kim repeat the LG magic?

BACKSTAGE

Way back in 1997, the odds were stacked against Kwang Ro Kim, LG's softspoken boss in India. Korean consumer goods makers were considered nothing better than down-market imitators of Japanese giants. The company had gone through a failed alliance in India with Chandra Kant Birla and an international brand makeover from Lucky Goldstar to LG.

Still, in a few short years, Kim made LG India's largest consumer electronics firm. Starting from scratch, the brand has progressed to universal recall.

The brief is somewhat similar for Kim, now on the rolls of Videocon, owned by the Dhoot brothers.

The brothers want to become a force to reckon with in the international market in double quick time. Back home, they want to regain the pre-eminent position they held before the Korean onslaught. Their target: a turnover of $10 billion by 2012, up from $4 billion now.

Within the consumer electronics market, Kim has a formidable reputation. Not even a handful of professionals have the kind of insight he has gained on how the mind of the Indian customer works. It was under his leadership that LG became the price leader in the market. He put up huge capacities in Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. The scales of production gave him the ability to produce at low costs.

Kim led the customisation of LG's product line for India, which helped the company make rapid inroads into the market. He travelled the length and breadth of the country, to every small town, to set up LG's retail network. Kim's skills at dealership development, say industry insiders, are truly awesome. He may speak in a squeaky voice, say those who have worked with him, but he is a tough task master.

He was quick to realise that nothing sells in India better than films and cricket. He built brand LG by latching on to cricket early. Even when LG India did not have the financial resources to build cricketing properties, he got its Korean parent to chip in.

LG will now face competition from the very person who laid the basic building blocks for its success in the country. It remains to be seen if the same strategy will work for Videocon. But one thing is for sure "" it marks a strategic shift for Videocon, from a family-owned enterprise to a professionally run consumer electronics business. The Dhoot brothers have given Kim the power to expand and consolidate their electronics business in the national and international markets.

In recent years Videocon has acquired French major Thomson SA's colour picture tube business and the Indian arm of Swedish white goods maker Electrolux AB. Following the failed attempt for South Korea's Daewoo Electronics, Videocon has now shown interest in buying Motorola's mobile handset business. All the investments need to be made to generate returns for the group.

In India, the Dhoots have all it requires to succeed in the business: huge production facilities, a good crop of brands (the company also sells appliances under the Electrolux and Kelvinator brands and televisions under the Sansui, Akai and Hyundai brands), and a multi-brand retail chain of their own (Next).

The all-important question is, can Kim make all of them click together? Over to the market place.