LG Saudi Arabia adds golden touch to world's largest 71 inch commercialized PDP TV

The new LG Electronics PDP TV measures 71 inches, the largest commercialized PDP TV in the world.

Aimed at LG's growing high-end customer base, the appropriately named 'LG Royal' comes with the owner's name carefully engraved, and a special ownership certificate.

Attending today's launch in Jeddah to a select audience of local dignitaries, business people and media, K.H Kim, President of LG Electronics Middle East and Africa, said: "LG Electronics' 71-inch PDP TV is the largest plasma display TV on the market, and it underlines LG's confident leadership in the PDP segment. We're delighted to stage the regional debut of this latest LG product innovation in Saudi Arabia, which is a key market for the company."

Kim added: "Plasma Panel Display represents a major growth product segment, and it is a central component of the digital home environment, which LG Electronics is pioneering. LG is aiming for a 30 per cent share of the global PDP module market this year, and a leading 20 per cent share of the worldwide PDP TV market by 2006."

The gold-plated 'LG Royal' limited edition product will be sold complete with a home theatre package. C.K Cho, General Manager of LG Electronics Saudi Arabia, said: "The 'LG Royal' edition reflects LG's growing sophistication as both a marketing organisation and product innovator. LG is the genuine leader for premium digital products, and the 'LG Royal' series caters specifically to some of our most exclusive customers in Saudi Arabia. The 'LG Royal' 71-inch PDP TV edition is unique, and puts clear distance between LG and its competition in Saudi Arabia and the region."

LG made significant technological breakthroughs to develop the 71-inch PDP TV, which has a contrast ratio of 16:9 and an embedded picture-enhancement chip XD engine. Before the global launch of the product in December last year, many in the industry considered making a PDP TV with a 71-inch screen impossible.

Sheikh Ammar Yousef Naghi, President of United Yousef M. Naghi Co. Ltd, the exclusive distributor of LG digital appliances in Saudi Arabia, said: "As one of LG's largest regional markets, Saudi Arabia displays considerable diversity in customer demand. The 71-inch PDP TV fills an important gap in the market for high-end home entertainment, and the 'LG Royal' addresses the specific needs of niche customers who demand exclusivity at every level. Today's launch involves not only a great product, but also world-class customer service and after-sales - and how well one serves the customer is increasingly the difference in a highly competitive market like Saudi Arabia."

LG Electronics is the market leader for PDP TVs in 17 countries including the UK, Germany, Spain, Australia, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa.

Assessing the global PDP TV market, LG Middle East and Africa President K.H Kim said: "LG will push the 71-inch PDP TV through focused marketing initiatives and order-based production strategies. By focusing on strategic links between home audio-video, car infotainment and mobile audio-video, LG Electronics aims to rank among the top three global players in the digital display and media segment by 2007."

LG is exploiting its expertise in core chip sets, display components and software, and its patents in digital transmission technology for VSB/EVSB, to penetrate the rapidly growing digital TV market at both the premium and mass level. According to analysts, the global PDP TV market, estimated at 3.5 million units in 2004, will expand to 6.3 million units this year, 10 million units by 2006, and 12 million units by 2007.