Today in Midrand, Johannesburg, LG officially opened its new offices and experience area. LG’s in for a few changes in the South African market. One of those changes is a move out of Germiston, a space the company had occupied for a substantial length of time, and a split for the company’s head offices and manufacturing division.
The company has occupied its new space at Growthpoint Business Park for some time but today’s event marked the so-called ‘proper’ unveiling. Several notable LG executives, including President of LG MEA Mr. James Lee, President of LG Electronics Mr DS Ahn, were joined by the Republic of Korea’s Ambassador to SA Mr. Jong Dae Park to reveal the new location to LG’s partners, members of the media, and members of the public.
Formalities
The event was more for LG’s partners in South Africa than it was for the media, however. As these events go, the opening was rather low-key, the speeches and discussion clearly aimed at the company’s business partners here in South Africa. There was a tree-planting ceremony and ribbon-cutting for both the offices and the new experience areas. The company’s new factory in Durban and the new premises in Johannesburg were talked up, with an emphasis on customer service improvements within the country as well as on innovation. LG reckons there’s a lot more of the latter to come.
Incoming
Which may not be far from the truth. While most of the event focused on the new customer experience area at LG’s new offices, we also secured some details on TV launches in South Africa for this year. Some of the company’s greatest hits from CES, from the rollable TV to its Wallpaper units, will be landing in South Africa around Q2 2020. New entries in its B, C, W, and G ranges will turn up in South Africa from mid-year. Pricing and exact models were subjects LG wasn’t ready to expand on just yet. When asked about its smarter appliances, they also gave a vague timeline. If you want your fridge to let you know you’re out of milk (and possibly order it itself), you can expect that to take place from 2022.
Still, there’s a lot to see at LG’s new Growthpoint Business Park offices. We’ve done a bit of a tour, from the company’s new 8K NanoCell TVs to upgraded fridges, washing machines, and Bluetooth speakers, up to gaming hardware and some interesting signage, if you’re into that sort of thing. You can see all that in the gallery below.
