Consumer durables and electronics giant LG has decided to re-enter the laptop business this

RELATED ARTICLES IT giants take currency cover for future income

year. The company had exited the laptop segment around two and a half years ago. The decision has been prompted by the fact that the market is more “mature” now, according to LG Electronics India chief operating officer Yasho V Verma.

Initially, LG expects the laptop segment to contribute around Rs 50 crore to the revenue of the IT segment, with monitors and optical disks being the key contributors.

The company expects to achieve Rs 900 crore revenue from the IT segment this year, with about 27 per cent coming from optical disks and the remaining from monitors and laptops. The IT segment last year contributed Rs 790 crore to LG’s total revenue of Rs 16,000 crore.

The company on Thursday launched 3D monitors, which, it claims, are the first of their kind, targeting gaming and home entertainment segments.

“About 65 per cent of the monitors we sell are LED monitors and the remaining are LCD monitors, which are dying out fast. We will phase out LCD monitors this year and will be a 100 per cent LED player,” said Sanjoy Bhattacharya, LG India product group marketing head.

The Indian monitor market is pegged at 5.8 million units including 3.2 million assembled PCs. LG monitors, which thrive on the assembled PC market, are expected to notch up sales of 1.1 million. Original equipment manufacturers account only for five per cent of sales, Bhattacharya said, adding that the company is expecting eight to ten per cent increase in monitor sales with the new models.

The company is focused on increasing its revenue share from the B2B segment, which is now about Rs 600 crore, as the segment is getting more organised. It is making security products for the banking and financial sectors. The company will spend about Rs 800 crore this year on upgrading facilities at its manufacturing units, said Verma.