In Part I we talked about how if LG is to build an alliance with partners, whoever they may be, it would help LG to focus their energy into aiming for a common goal or for new business projects.
It’s no news that LG Display competes with Samsung for the title of the world’s largest LCD maker. At the same time, LG is also seeking to expand its manufacturing lines to meet heavy demands for their tablets and smartphones. They’re planning to invest more for web-enabled TVs and customized content for premium household appliances. But LG is constantly referred to as the ‘No. 2’ in the world in terms of TV with Samsung on top. Ouch.

Meanwhile, Samsung will invest more in the home appliance industry such as fridges and robot vacuum cleaners.  This can be seen as their attempt at strengthening their home appliances portfolio that is considerably weak compared to LG’s. Samsung may be the world’s top smartphone maker, but it is not uncommon to see Samsung lose out to LG in terms of average household items.

So you can see why LG is banking heavily on the emerging market of OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) displays. They are also investing in the mobile technology and in the long-term evolution and devices that support it, directly in competition with Samsung. On top of their hefty 19-billion USD investments in R&D, LG will hire 15,000 new employees this year in order to develop new technology ahead of rivals.

Recently, Samsung Display sued LG for their infringement of display-related patents. The CEO of LG said that [ko]:

“There will be no compromises. We are trying our best to open new markets with fair competition with Samsung. But this isn’t the right time for us to compromise.”

So, it looks like LG and Samsung won’t be working together with regards to OLEDs and LCDs despite the merits involved, and we will see how the dynamics change this year. What do you think is going to happen?

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