LG Electronics (Thailand) Co looks set to resume heavy investments this year in order to drive sales of its home appliances.
Amnaj Singhachan, the company's senior marketing manager, said that after cutting investments during the pandemic, LG plans to spend 500 million baht this year, up from 350 million baht in 2022.
Half of the funds will be spent on media, with the rest to be allocated to refurbish the shops of LG's 920 dealers and modern retail stores, focusing on product display, store decoration and a new zone for product comparison.
It plans to hire 350 sales representatives to prepare for higher home appliance demand this year.
The company has also launched 34 LG "Objet Collections" of appliances to respond to consumers who care about sustainability and want products that are designed as home decorations.
The LG Objet Collection was launched in Europe last year. It is the first time in Thailand that the company has launched this premium appliances model that comes with innovation and enhances home decoration to make the ambience more liveable, according to Mr Amnaj.
In addition to function and design, these 34 new LG home appliance models comprise an air-conditioner, air-purifier, washing machine, clothes dryer, refrigerator, clothing care, and solutions designed with sustainability in mind, alongside a focus on saving energy and improving the quality of life for users.
Apart from that, the company has also added vacuum cleaner products to the Thai market after temporarily withdrawing them from the market for a few years.
Sunghun Jung, the company's managing director, said that LG Thailand is continuing the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) vision from LG's global work operations, with a vision of sustainability for 2023 that enhances the creativity of innovation to improve the quality of life in line with today's customers, who focus on a sustainable future.
This year's action plan is also preparing to introduce innovations for new home appliances that focus on environmental friendliness at every stage of the product life cycle in line with LG's global goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% from 2017.
Mr Amnaj expects LG home appliance sales to grow by 14.3% to 8.4 billion baht this year.
Of the total sales, 64% are expected to come from washing machines, 20% from refrigerators, and 16% from air-conditioners.
