LG Groups Talks With Apple To Sell iPhones At Retail Stores In South Korea Suspended After Local Backlash

Tajammul Pangarkar
Tajammul Pangarkar

Updated · Jul 23, 2021

SHARE:

Scoop.market.us is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.
close
Advertiser Disclosure

At Market.us Scoop, we strive to bring you the most accurate and up-to-date information by utilizing a variety of resources, including paid and free sources, primary research, and phone interviews. Our data is available to the public free of charge, and we encourage you to use it to inform your personal or business decisions. If you choose to republish our data on your own website, we simply ask that you provide a proper citation or link back to the respective page on Market.us Scoop. We appreciate your support and look forward to continuing to provide valuable insights for our audience.

LG Group has suspended talks with Apple. The South Korean company was holding dialogues with Apple to sell iPhones and other products. The plan was to sell Apple gadgets at LG’s retail outlets in Korea. However, the negotiations for a retail partnership could not materialize between the two. LG believed that its plans to sell Apple products will provide an opportunity to expand its business. Reports say that the talks have temporarily ended. The suspension was most likely influenced by some local backlash. The talks stirred controversy in the Korean market with small and medium retailers at the core. They expressed concerns that this will suspend employee training for Apple products sales and thus their income.

The South Korean government too had expressed reservations. It hinted that this will affect small and medium retailers and also the competition in the market. The government said that large retail partnerships will pose a threat to the livelihood of small retails. Such outlets are already facing the heat in the wake of the pandemic. The plan would have allowed Apple to directly sell its products at over 400 LG stores in the country. Notably, LG has already announced that it will exit its loss-making mobile phone business. The company suffered years of losses in the mobile business segment. It will, therefore, withdraw from the smartphone business completely.

LG declared that it will no longer manufacture and sell handsets after July 31. LG plans to shift to the manufacturing of electric vehicle components and other related products and services. It already supplies electronics parts like displays and camera modules to Apple and others. Apple saw an opportunity in the deal with LG as it seeks to capture the Korean market. The company recently announced a trade-in program to woo Korean customers with LG smartphones. The Korean market is mainly dominated by local player Samsung. Samsung too was concerned about the talks between LG and Apple. Any cooperation between LG and Apple will only pose a threat to the company’s leadership.

SHARE:
Tajammul Pangarkar

Tajammul Pangarkar

Tajammul Pangarkar is a CMO at Prudour Pvt Ltd. Tajammul longstanding experience in the fields of mobile technology and industry research is often reflected in his insightful body of work. His interest lies in understanding tech trends, dissecting mobile applications, and raising general awareness of technical know-how. He frequently contributes to numerous industry-specific magazines and forums. When he’s not ruminating about various happenings in the tech world, he can usually be found indulging in his next favorite interest - table tennis.