April 19, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] LG Electronics confirmed Monday that it has no plan to roll out its new premium smartphone V20 in Europe for the time being.

“We have no plan to roll out V20 in Europe for the time being because there is less demand for smartphones with big screens in the region compared to Korea or North America,” Seoul-based LG Electronics’ spokesperson told The Korea Herald.

 However, he cautiously added, “The plan may still be changed in the future,” citing that the previous model V10 was also launched in Europe a few months after the rollout in Korea.

The confirmation came after foreign news media reported that LG’s new phone may not be available in Belgium and the UK, citing sources from LG Electronics’ Belgian office.

Industry watchers said the company’s decision came as it desperately needs to narrow the operating loss made in the mobile communications division this year. In the first and second quarters of this year, the company’s MC division had a combined operating loss of 354 billion won ($318 million) due to the sluggish sales of its previous phone V10.

V20 will be available in Korea at the end of September competing with Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy Note 7 and Apple’s iPhone 7.

Following the rollout in Korea, the phone is expected to be available in North America and Hong Kong gradually, although the Korean tech giant has not yet officially announced the exact release dates.

By Shin Ji-hye/The Korea Herald (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)