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<At the LG Electronics booth in the TV shop on the 3rd floor of Yodobashi Camera's Umeda store in Osaka, Japan, citizens are watching the 3D images of LGE. / Osaka (Tokyo)= Seo Hyeong-seok >

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics made meaningful moves in the Japanese market with customized marketing. Targeting the Japanese consumers reacting to something new, they actively identified a niche market. They seem to be established in Japan taking great pride in its electronic industry.

SEC fared well with the first curved panel smartphone ‘Galaxy Note Edge.’ Released in Japan last October for the first time in the world, this product is said to attract public attention with the curved panel alone. In Japan where the iPhone is traditionally very strong, SEC`s sales through NTT Docomo and au, an affiliate of KDDI, started to rise. “People keep asking questions about purchasing the Galaxy Note Edge,” said an insider of Yurakucho BIC Camera in Tokyo. “Whatever we have in stock will be sold out pretty quickly.”

NTT Docomo, which was forecast to be estranged from Samsung with the introduction of the iPhone, used popular actors, such as Watanabe Ken, Ishihara Satomi and Horikita Maki, to support the ‘Edge.’

The ‘Galaxy Illumination,’ taking place in Roppongi, a commercial district in Tokyo, is receiving good responses from citizens. The lights were installed 400m in front of the Tokyo Tower, captivating the hearts of Japanese people who are enjoying winter illumination. A great number of people are visiting the Great Illumination to take pictures with the Tokyo Tower in the background under the lights turning red and blue.

LGE`s curved monitors with a 21:9 aspect ratio are sold out day after day. Major general merchandising stores like Yodobashi Camera and BIC Camera, are out of stock, and major financial institutions are continuously asking about purchasing the monitors. Moon Ji-won, manager in LG Electronics Japan said, “The large screen and efficient functions like the split screen seem to have received favorable reviews.”

`Hom-Bot,` a robot vacuum cleaner released this year, was the product that served as the watershed in LGE home appliances` entry into the Japanese market. It is the first square robot vacuum cleaner in Japan. LGE emphasized its ability to remove dust in the corners in consideration of the square shape of Japanese houses. The bed cleaner, released in the wake of the robot vacuum cleaner, had its ability to remove pollen and ticks recognized by the Institute of Tokyo Environmental Allergy (ITEA).

Recently LGE made it to the list of top 6 TV makers in Japan, and its products are displayed in good locations of major general merchandising stores. At Yodobashi Camera in Umeda, Osaka, if you take the escalator to the TV shop on the 3rd floor, you will see LG TVs first. At BIC Camera in Yurakucho, Tokyo, you will see LG TVs the moment the elevator door opens on the 2nd floor.

At these stores, the only motion remote control `Magic Remote Control,` found in TVs sold in Japan, and 3D viewing experience are attracting the attention of consumers. “In Japan, general merchandising stores have the right to decide where in the store the products will be displayed,” said Lee Sang-won, assistant manager in LG Electronics Japan. “LG TV`s getting good locations means that they are recognized in Japan.”

Seo Hyeong-seok | hsseo@etnews.com