Introduction
LG electronics is a worldwide renowned electronic company with intensive command in the electronics market. Its dominance over other electronics manufacturing companies is based on its innovative strategies. The company highly values competence in terms of research for the best design as well as the most recent technology. The company was founded in Korea and commands an extremely wide market in the rest of the countries in the world. The company faces adverse competition from other consumer electronics manufacturers like Nokia, Samsung and BlackBerry. However, this does not prevent the company from maintaining performance despite being influenced by adverse weaknesses and challenged by extreme threats. The latest development by LG is the LG Watch Phone. This phone is developed under massive strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This may be defined as the SWOT analysis of the product.
Strengths
These are the strongholds of the company that make its products favorable in the market. There are several strengths that the LG Watch Phone enjoys.
Brand Image
The company chose to develop uniqueness in the new product in the market. An outstanding brand begins with the name of the company. This is the worldly known logo of a company, which acts as the marketing agent for the company in the entire world. The LG watch Phone may access an extremely large market following its association with the LG Company (Dan, 2009).
In the development of the product, the company considered the design for the product whereby uniqueness and creativity was depicted. The design of the watch is extremely attractive since it takes the shape of a common watch, but it is extended with intense unique features of a phone (Dan, 2009). This makes the product attractive to many individuals.
Big Market Share
LG is already established as a strong manufacturer of consumer electronics. By 2009, the company was operational in 82 subsidiaries in the world. The company enjoys net earnings of $ 389 million per year. This is an indication that the company is renowned and their massive employees who have gained confidence in the company and trust their products as excellent and affordable. Since the LG Watch Phone is the first one of its kind, market is guaranteed (Dan, 2009). The brand of the product matched with the uniqueness of the product dictate excellence in performance, in the market for the product. The product may sell to the entire world where LG operates since there is no similar product developed by any other manufacturer of consumer electronics manufacturer.
Top quality material
LG manufactures its product with extremely high quality materials. The LG Watch Phone is manufactured with a high quality material that I stylishly designed to attract customers. The quality is evident through the metal casing that is designed to fit the Watch Phone. The touch screen is also made of a high density glass that is highly sensitive and durable (Dan, 2009). Customers prefer high quality products as they are durable and offer excellent services to the client.
Weaknesses
These are internal factors that may affect a company negatively in making sales. Although, LG is a renowned manufacturer of consumer electronics there are some factors that may influence its wellbeing in the electronics market (Dan, 2009). The following are the weaknesses that the LG Watch Phone is likely to face.
Lack of experience
Although, LG has been in the electronics sector for a long time, it has never manufactured a watch. Therefore, this may pose a challenge to the process of designing as the manufacturer is not aware of style, as well as the needs of the customer. This point may be extremely significant in administering for high quality products (Dan, 2009). The company needs to hire experts in this sector in order to manufacture high quality and attractive watch.
High price
Following the lack of experience in the production of watches, it also becomes difficult to determine the price of a watch. Although, the company has succeeded in manufacturing the first watch phone it may not be aware of the best price to charge for the new product. The company has had challenges in establishing prices for the products in various regions. One of the regions where it has not succeeded in establishing prices is Canada. However, it has succeeded in other regions like Europe but has charged extremely high prices of $ 1290 per unit of the watch phone (Dan, 2009).
Lack of variety
Most watch wearers like a variety to choose. LG has only been able to produce only one type of Watch Phone. This is an indication that many customers will not be willing to purchase the watch. In the designing sector, uniqueness is extremely significant to customers (Dan, 2009). Consumers do not like products that will be found everywhere and with everyone. Therefore, this is a considerable challenge to the watch manufacturer.
Opportunities
These are advantages that a company possesses and may take advantage of them to make an outstanding performance. The LG Watch Phone has numerous opportunities to improve its market performance.
First mover Advantage
This refers to the merits that a company is likely to gather by being the first company to manufacture certain product. The LG Watch Phone is the first watch phone to be manufactured in the consumer electronics industry. This means that the company has the freedom of promoting its product to any region without fear for competition (Dan, 2009). The company should take advantage of this situation to make adverse profits by ensuring that before other companies manufacture this kind of watch phone it has already dominated the market.
Search for uniqueness by consumers
Every day, consumers are searching for unique products, which are manufactured of high quality materials. Watch Phone has been manufactured in such a manner that fits the uniqueness that watch wearers may be looking for in the industry (Dan, 2009). Therefore, there is a wide market for the product if the company sustains the uniqueness and prevents duplication by competitors.
Predominance of the portable sector
Most manufacturers of consumer electronics have shifted to manufacturing portable electronic devices. LG has undertaken the leading step in manufacturing a watch which widens its category for portable devices (Dan, 2009). If this option did not exist, there could have not been a chance to manufacture a Watch Phone.
Threats
These are external factors that if they are not well monitored they may lead to poor performance of the company. LG through the LG Watch Phone faces some of these factors.
Competition
The LG Watch Phone is exposed to two extremely stiff forms of competition. It faces competition from watch manufacturers and cell phone manufacturers. Watch manufacturers pose a challenge by developing watches which are better than the watch bit in the LG Watch Phone. On the other hand, mobile manufacturers will manufacture cell phones that hold more features than the watch phone (Dan, 2009). This may make the watch phone less favorable among customers.
Duplication
Following the uniqueness of the LG product, the competitors of the company are likely to manufacture similar products. This may pose a concrete threat to the functionality of the product in the market. Once the market becomes flooded with watch phones it is likely that LG will not sell its product as it used to do before and this may lead to extensive loss for the company. The principal threat is the Canadian mobile manufacturing sector (Dan, 2009).
Conclusion
No company can stand with a share of the SWOT elements. Strengthens make the company withstand other companies. Weaknesses are challenges that should build the background for the company, whereas they may be used by competitors to pose challenge in performance. Opportunities come from elements that the company may utilize to conquer other companies. Threats are traits that may bar the company from achieving the required goals if they are not monitored in the right manner.
Reference
Dan, I. (2009). LG ELECTRONICS CANADA, INC.- THE WATCH PHONE. Ivey Management Services, 1-10.
