LG Electronics

LG Electronics Inc. (Korean: LG전자,, lse: LGLD) is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, and a member of the LG Group chaebol. The company operates its business through five divisions: Mobile Communications, Home Entertainment, Home Appliances, Air Conditioning, and Energy Solutions. It is the world's second-largest television manufacturer (after Samsung Electronics), and the world's fourth-largest mobile phone maker by unit sales in the third quarter of 2013.

History
The group was formed through the merger of two Korean companies, Lak-Hui (pronounced "Lucky") and GoldStar, from which the abbreviation of LG was derived. The current "Life's Good" slogan is a backronym. Before the corporate name change to LG, household products were sold under the brand name of Lucky, while electronic products were sold under the brand name of GoldStar (Hangul:금성). In January 2009 LG was able to buy the domain name LG.com for low six figures USD.

In 1994, GoldStar gained sponsorship from The 3DO Company to make the first 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. In 1995, GoldStar was renamed LG Electronics, and acquired the US electronics company Zenith. LG Solar Energy is a subsidiary formed in 2007 to allow LG Chem to supply polysilicon to LG Electronics for production of solar cells. In 2008, LG took its first dive into the solar panel manufacturing pool, as it announced a preliminary deal to form a joint venture with Conergy. Under the deal, set to be completed by year's end, LG would acquire a 75 percent stake in Conergy's Frankfurt solar-panel plant. LG has produced camcorders called ARTCAM and DSLRs.

By 2005, LG was a Top 100 global brand, and in 2006, LG recorded a brand growth of 14%. Its display manufacturing affiliate, LG Display, is now the world's largest plasma panel manufacturer.

On December 5, 2012, the antitrust regulators of European Union fined LG Electronics and several other major companies for fixing prices of TV cathode-ray tubes in two cartels lasting nearly a decade.

Operations
LG Electronics has about 75 subsidiaries worldwide. LG Electronics owns Zenith and controls 37.9 percent of LG Display.

Mobile Communications division
The Mobile Communications division provides mobile communication terminals, personal computers and communication devices.

LG mobile devices are made for CDMA networks worldwide. LG phones are available also in unlocked versions that can be used on any GSM and network worldwide.

LG sold 116.7 million mobile phones in 2010, corresponding to a market share of 8.4%.

Home Appliances division
The Home Appliances division manufactures refrigerators, washing machines, stoves, microwave ovens, vacuum cleaners, compressors, and motors.

Its 2007 sales totaled KRW 11.8 trillion, accounting for 29% of the company's total revenue. The division's profit was KRW 717.1 billion. About 35% of the company's home appliance revenue comes from the North American market.

Air Conditioning & Energy Solutions division
The Air Conditioning & Energy Solutions division makes air conditioners and LED lighting.

Products
LG Electronics' products include computers, televisions, mobile phones, home appliances and semiconductors (DRAM, SDRAM and flash memory).

LG Electronics introduced their first Internet TV in 2007, originally branded as "NetCast Entertainment Access" devices. They later renamed the 2011 Internet TV's to “LG Smart TV” when more interactive television features were added, that enables the audience to receive information from the Internet while at the same time watching conventional TV programming. LG's Magic Remote uses Hillcrest Labs' Freespace technology to allow users to change channels using gestures and Dragon NaturallySpeaking technology for voice recognition.

Advertising and sonic branding
The mnemonic G E F D E C C' (MP3 file of sonic logo) was produced by Musikvergnuegen and written by Walter Werzowa in 2008. The sonic tag has been featured in commercials and devices and is recognized worldwide.

Sponsorships
LG Electronics sponsored the English football club Weyside Rovers (Guildford) from 2000 until 2002 and the English football club Fulham F.C until July 2010. LG sponsored the Brazilian football club Sao Paulo FC from 2001 to 2009, during which time the club were the winners of the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship. LG currently sponsor the Australian Football League team Fremantle Football Club, the Costa Rican football club Liga Deportiva Alajuelense, the Australian National Rugby League team Cronulla Sharks, and the Argentinian club Boca Juniors.

In August 2013, it was announced that LG Electronics would sponsor German Bundesliga club Bayer 04 Leverkusen for the next three years with an option to extend for one more year.

LG sponsors the International Cricket Council, the world governing body for cricket. It also sponsors ICC Awards. During the period 2001–2003 LG sponsored the snooker Grand Prix. During these years the tournament was known as the LG Cup.

In 2008 LG became sponsors of the Extreme Sport 'FSO4 Freeze' festival and in January 2009 LG became a Global Partner and Technology Partner of Formula One. LG is now an official supplier to Virgin Racing, as well as Lotus Racing and engine manufacturer Cosworth. LG sponsors the LG Mobile World Cup texting competition. LG also sponsors London Fashion Week and the LG Arena in Birmingham. They also have sponsored professional Starcraft 2, Incredible Miracle since 2011

LG is an Official Device Partner of the hit movie, The Wolverine

Environmental record
LG is listed in Greenpeace’s Guide to Greener Electronics where it ranked 13th (jointly with Toshiba) out of 15 leading electronics makers in November 2011, scoring 2.8 out of 10. LG benefited from having a penalty point lifted from the previous edition (October 2010). The company was penalised for failing to meet its commitment to make products free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) by the end of 2010. All of LG's mobile phones are now free from PVC and BFRs while other products such as TVs and notebooks contain PVC/BFR free parts; LG aims to phase these substances out from TVs monitors and PCs by 2012 and household appliances by 2014.

In the Guide the company scored badly on the Energy criteria, being criticized for setting a weak target for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and not making renewable energy part of its low carbon strategy. LG scored most points in the Sustainable Operations category with the company providing take-back for obsolete phones in 52 countries and being in the process of addressing the issue of conflict minerals. However, the guide warned that LG risks incurring a penalty point in future editions as it was still being listed as a client of Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) who have been linked to illegal logging and deforestation in Indonesia.

Choice magazine, in independent tests of popular LG fridge models in 2010, found the energy consumption in two models was higher than claimed by LG. LG was aware of the problem and had offered compensation to affected customers. In 2004, LG made 4A-rated water efficiency claims for numerous washing machines before they were certified. LG gave undertakings to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to provide appropriate corrective notices and upgrade and maintain its trade practices compliance program. In 2006, LG overstated energy efficiency on five of its air conditioner models and was again required to offer consumers rebates to cover the extra energy costs.

LG Electronics is planning to build an environmentally friendly North American headquarters in the borough of Englewood Cliffs in Bergen County, New Jersey, having received a favorable legal decision subsequently being appealed based upon building height issues. The building will be the first to break the tree line of The Palisades (Hudson River), a US National Natural Landmark.

Controversy
LG Electronics has proposed to build a new US headquarters that would break the tree line of The Palisades (Hudson River), a US National Natural Landmark.

In November 2013, it was discovered that some of LG's smart TVs silently collect filenames from attached USB storage devices and attempt to send them back to LG's own servers, although as of this writing the web application does not exist and the purpose of this is unknown. The same television was also found to send program viewing data to another LG-affiliated server which is in operation. Shortly after this blog entry went live, LG disabled playback on its site of the video explaining how their viewer analytics work and closed the Brightcove account the video was hosted on. By December 2013 the page itself was removed from LG's website.