Having grown its appliance-subscription business rapidly at home and parts of Asia, South Korean giant LG Electronics is now looking to expand it globally.
Under the model, customers pay a monthly fee covering installation, maintenance and the option to upgrade or eventually own the product, rather than making an outright purchase. For LG, the economics are attractive: the company has indicated that subscription services generate low-to-mid-teen margins, compared with 8-9% on a conventional sale.
LG’s global subscription revenue reached nearly KRW 2.5 trillion (about $1.8 billion) in 2025, up 29% from a year earlier after growing roughly 75% the previous year. The model began in South Korea in 2023, building on the care-service infrastructure of its water-purifier business, and has since expanded to refrigerators, washing machines, dryers and televisions.
Other consumer-electronics majors are also seeing traction. Samsung’s AI Subscription Club, launched in South Korea in December 2024, accounted for nearly 30% of in-store appliance sales within weeks and has since expanded to Galaxy smartphones and even the Ballie home robot.
While LG Electronics is evaluating the market, there are no concrete plans for a wide launch, as of now.
Interestingly, the conditions that make the model work elsewhere are, in many ways, intensifying in India. In its metros, a generation now rents its sofas and beds. Furnishing a one-bedroom apartment in India costs eight to nine months of average income, compared with one to four months in markets such as the US, South Korea and Japan, according to Redseer data cited in Rentomojo’s IPO prospectus.
Property price-to-income ratios in major metros have risen from about 5.5 times to 8 times since 2021, while EMI-to-income ratios have increased from roughly one-third of income to more than half. Job mobility has increased and the average metro tenancy has fallen to 1.3 years.
The organised home-furnishing rental market was worth about Rs 1,550 crore in 2025 and has expanded at an annual rate of 45% since 2021, according to Redseer. The growth is underpinned by India’s 43 million rental homes, nearly 80% of which are rented unfurnished.
LG sees similar trends. “Cultural differences and macroeconomic conditions influence this business model quite heavily. This model works better in dense urban housing environments such as studios, apartments and villas. Younger generations often move from house to house and may prefer built-in products or rental models rather than owning large appliances,” said Aeron Kim, head of investor-relations communications at LG, in Seoul.
By that measure, India appears well suited. Its largest cities rank among the world’s most densely populated urban centres. Other convenience-led businesses that depend on density, such as quick commerce, have already demonstrated the scale of demand that can emerge in such environments.
Yet India’s rental boom has so far been a furniture story, not an appliance one. Companies such as Rentomojo, Furlenco and Cityfurnish are built around beds, sofas and curated home packages, with appliances remaining a secondary offering.
The reason is simple. Furniture can be cleaned, refurbished and rented repeatedly over many years while retaining much of its value. Appliances age differently. They require more servicing, become technologically outdated more quickly and are expensive to restore to rent-ready condition. The economics that work for a bed or sofa become far less compelling once a compressor enters the equation.
It is a gap a manufacturer would, in principle, be well placed to bridge. As the maker, it controls the entire product lifecycle, from production to maintenance to replacement, and few understand the upkeep of a washing machine better than the company that built it.
Any such move would hinge on execution: a service network deep enough across Indian cities to make the model viable at scale, and a metro-focused rollout able to justify the investment. “A reliable and credible service network owned and operated by LG is one of the core values we provide,” Kim said, describing it as a key differentiator for the business.
Were a manufacturer to move, analysts note, the disruption could extend beyond rental startups. A manufacturer-led subscription model bypasses the no-cost EMI ecosystem that currently intermediates appliance purchases. It could also draw a significant portion of India’s fragmented repair market into the manufacturer’s orbit.
Selling a refrigerator is a transaction. Subscribing to one is an ongoing relationship. In markets where ownership is becoming less central to urban consumption, that relationship may prove more valuable than the appliance itself.
(The writer was in Seoul on the invite of LG Electronics)