When LG Electronics India listed on the bourses on October 14, 2025, it opened 50% above its issue price of Rs 1,140, valuing the company at Rs 1.16 lakh crore, higher than its South Korean parent’s market capitalisation.
The Rs 11,607 crore IPO, India’s largest since 2008, marked the culmination of a turnaround that began nearly three decades ago with a failed start.
In 1993, LG entered India under its old name, Lucky Goldstar, through a joint venture with a Delhi-based firm, Bestavision. Government restrictions then barred foreign companies from setting up independent ventures. The partnership faltered as the local partner lacked capital to build manufacturing facilities. Consumers associated GoldStar with low-quality Korean goods, and distributors hesitated to restock. By the mid-1990s, the company withdrew completely.
A Clean Start
In the beginning, Lucky Chemical Industrial Corporation and GoldStar Co. merged to form Lucky Goldstar. Among the operational reasons that led to the company’s market entry in India deemed a failure was the name, Lucky Goldstar. At that period of time, Korean products were perceived to be a copy of Japanese products and therefore considered inferior. Thereby, Lucky Goldstar’s products were conceived to be low-end, budget electronics instead of premium. Media reports reveal that shopkeepers overshadowed LG’s products by keeping Sony and Samsung above, terming them as premium.
1995 saw the company change its name to LG, a sleeker and more adaptable acronym of the original name. The second entry came in 1997, when India relaxed foreign investment norms, this time, ditching the name too. LG returned as a 100% subsidiary, LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd., and built a manufacturing unit in Greater Noida. Furthermore, the company cemented the rebranding with the rollout of the ‘Life’s Good’ tagline, which helped infuse an emotion that Indian’s could relate to.
Within five months, LG had established 18 branch offices nationwide, a feat competitors typically achieved in a year. Then, managing director Kwang-Ro Kim pushed decision-making to local managers, an uncommon move among Korean firms of the period, and made personal market visits across cities to gather feedback from dealers and consumers.
Localisation was embedded early in the company’s strategy. Appliances were redesigned to handle voltage fluctuations. Televisions were rolled out with on-screen menus in multiple Indian languages, and air conditioners were built for plug-and-play installation instead of custom fitting. By the 2000s, LG adopted the “health” strategy; its air conditioners were marketed as ‘Healthair’, microwaves as ‘Healthwave and refrigerators were termed as ‘Food Guard’. The theme successfully resonated with India’s growing middle class.
A decisive brand moment came in 2002, when LG became the principal sponsor of the Indian cricket team for the 2003 ICC World Cup, spending about Rs 400–500 million. The partnership helped the brand move from outsider status to household familiarity. By 2004, LG led every product segment it competed in, colour televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, air-conditioners, and microwaves, achieving its five-year target in three years.
By 2005, growth had created a different problem. Multiple advertising agencies handled different product categories, which led to fragmented messaging. Promotional discounts and gifts for consumers also seemed to overshadow their core communication. Market research described LG as “middle-class” and “indifferent”.
Repositioning the Brand
In 2006, LG shifted its focus to younger consumers, launching the “Intello” range of appliances and signing actor Abhishek Bachchan as brand ambassador. Soon after, managing director Moon Bum Shin led the company’s pivot to premium.
New categories followed: front-loading washing machines, inverter air-conditioners, and ultra-high-definition televisions. Samsung’s rapid innovation cycle and aggressive marketing had already positioned it as the aspirational Korean brand in India. LG’s market share slipped from 37% to around 33% by 2012.
To realign operations, LG brought in an internal metric, Brand Equity, which was put in place to ensure that the company’s growth was not led by low-end models or price discounts but by maintaining a premium mix.
The global campaign drew 6.7 billion impressions and lifted LG’s youth resonance in India from 57% to 61% within four months. The company closed FY25 with revenue of Rs 24,367 crore, up 14%, and profit of Rs 2,203 crore, up 46%. Two manufacturing facilities in Greater Noida and Pune now supply both domestic and export markets, with 58% local sourcing of components.
What lies ahead
As per news reports, LG Electronics India’s IPO was oversubscribed 54 times with institutional investors bidding 166 times their quota. The company’s next phase is aligned with the CEO’s Global South roadmap that essentially positions India as the hub for AI-integrated home appliances and B2B solutions. Furthermore, as per media outlets, the firm plans to derive 45% of its revenue from enterprise businesses by 2030. It also plans to expand its subscription-based models to Southeast Asia.
Once a foreign brand that people failed to accept, today, LG has become one of India’s most valuable consumer electronics companies.
