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| LG OLED TV on display / Courtesy of LG Electronics |
By Kim Yoo-chul
Samsung Electronics, the world's largest TV manufacturer, plans to introduce new TV sets in North America and Europe early next year using an advanced organic light-emitting diode (OLED) supplied by a display affiliate of rival LG Electronics, sources and analysts familiar with the issue said, Monday.
"Based on our internal investigation in Samsung's TV supply chain, it's fair to say Samsung Electronics recently completed quality testing of TVs using LG Display-manufactured OLED panels and put LG Display into its supply system. Samsung Electronics is considering releasing TVs using LG's OLED panels in North America and Europe within the first half of next year at the earliest," a senior fund manager at a U.S.-based investment bank in Seoul said by telephone.
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| Neo QLED TV / Courtesy of Samsung Electronics |
Regarding the estimated volume Samsung intends to purchase initially from LG, the manager responded, "The ranges will vary between 1.5 million and 2 million glass sheets. In terms of estimated deal size, if Samsung officially inks the deal with LG, this will be around a few billion dollars."
Representatives at Samsung Electronics and LG Display declined to comment because of the sensitivity of the issue. Faced with a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel shortage in 2017, Samsung tried to procure the screens from LG's display affiliate, which is majority owned by LG Electronics.
But Samsung Electronics ended up getting its own display affiliate to supply the screens instead by jacking up output.
In reality, Samsung hasn't been a big fan of OLED TVs. The company exited the OLED TV business years ago.
The partnership with LG, according to sources and officials, illustrates Samsung Electronics' strategy shift in terms of diversifying its panel sourcing channels beyond Samsung Display, as conventional LCD panels are growing much more expensive. Also, Samsung is inclined to explore new alternatives other than LCDs which are price sensitive and can eat into profits when the market is down.
"Samsung's decision to use LG's OLED panels looks smart just from a business standpoint. Given limited supply of Samsung Display's OLED panels, Samsung Electronics plans to pursue a 'dual-track' approach for its OLED TV business putting its TVs using LG panels into a budget lineup," an executive at one of Samsung's local partner companies said.
Samsung is marketing so-called QD-OLED TVs highlighting self-emissive Micro LED light-bulb technology. But in terms of production yields (defect rates) and supply volume, Samsung Display has yet to realize economies of scale. According to estimates by market tracker Display Supply Chain Consultant (DSCC), LG Display has the capacity of producing 8 million OLED glass sheets annually for TVs and is the world's dominant OLED panel supplier in the world.
"Samsung's Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee, who oversees TVs and mobile phone businesses, will specify its updated strategies and plans regarding the OLED TV business to top retailers and buyers on the sidelines of his participation in next year's Las Vegas tech fair," said Chung Won-seok, an analyst at Hi Investment.
