LG Electronics have signed a cross-licensing deal with GE Consumer & Industrial covering freezers and cooking devices in a bid to compete with primarily Whirlpool and Electrolux in the US home appliances market. On top of the ongoing dispute with Whirlpool over US patents this will not come as much of a surprise.
Under the deal, LG and GE will share each others patents without paying licensing fees, a deal that should sit well with both parties.
“The agreement will pave the way for the company become one of the top global brands in consumer electronics and home appliances” said Lee Young-ha, chief of LG Electronics digital appliance division.
LG is currently ranked third in the North American home appliances market last year in sales, after Whirlpool and Electrolux respectively. LG posted $12.6 billion in sales in 2007, while Whirlpool and Electrolux sold $19 billion and $15 billion, respectively.
LG said it has been collaborating with GE in cooking appliances since 1999, both in technological and product development.
As South Korea’s second-biggest manufacturer of home appliances after Samsung, LG has been spending millions of dollars boosting product sales in the world’s largest consumer electronics market.
LG has been increasing the proportion of attractive high-end washers capitalizing on the latest health boom, while its plasma display panel business has shown signs of turning around thanks to the booming trend in the flat screens industry.
