LG Fights Back: Three-Pronged Strategy Takes on China’s TV Blitz

Image Source: Tom's Hardware

Chinese television brands are rewriting the global premium TV market playbook, and Hisense and TCL are spearheading a spectacular attack that has left Korean titans LG and Samsung reeling. Hisense and TCL both recorded their shipments going through the roof during the first quarter of 2025—87% and 74% respectively, year-over-year—pushing their combined global market share to 39%, behind Samsung's 28% but ahead of LG's 16%. Chinese brands are not just catching up for the first time, but they're poised to overtake the incumbent leaders.

Key Highlights:

Market Share Shake-Up: Hisense now has 20% global premium TV market share, from 14% in the previous year, and TCL has shifted into 19%, from 13%. LG fell dramatically from 23% to 16%, and fourth globally.

Mini LED Momentum: Chinese brands' aggressive push for big-screen Mini LED TVs fueled by rapid growth of Chinese brands, providing the latest features at very competitive prices, is driving explosive growth for Chinese brands. Customers increasingly prefer larger Mini LED TVs at the cost of smaller OLED TVs, a trend which has eroded the dominance of Korean OLED technology.

Domestic Power: China's internal market is a driving force behind this expansion, fueled by state-subsidized trade-in deals and strong demand for bigger, more expensive TVs with state-of-the-art display technology.

LG's Countermove: In answer to stabilizing its falling market share, LG is launching a three-pronged initiative:

Shoring Up OLED Competitiveness: With depreciation of equipment at an end, OLED panel production becomes more affordable, and LG is ramping up output and narrowing the price difference with LCD and the Mini LED TVs.

Premium Focus: LG is also going large with its premium OLED lineup, targeting consumers who value picture quality as well as design. Global Growth: The company is growing in emerging markets and leveraging brand power to keep Chinese rivals at bay.

With Chinese brands marching ahead at breakneck speed, the global television market is in for a battle royale, where innovation, pricing, and size are on the cards.

Sources: ChosunBiz, Counterpoint Research, Korea JoongAng Daily