LG unveils TVs and deals at CES

By Franklin Paul and Gabriel Madway

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - LG Electronics Inc, hoping to tide through a global economic downturn and emerge stronger, wants to keep up spending and unveil new products to boost its North American presence.

From a watchphone reminiscent of James Bond gadgets to a dozen new high-definition TVs, the South Korean tech giant introduced a slew of new products at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Wednesday and vowed to keep developing more to shore up its premium branding.

Michael Ahn, president and chief executive of LG Electronics North America, told Reuters he expects to gain overall market share in 2009, even if revenue growth sputters as the economic slump prompts consumers to put off purchases until prices fall.

"Even though we have a recession now, like everybody, we do not want to reduce our marketing spending and we want to invest more money on R&D and customer service and eco-friendly and environmental issues," Ahn said in an interview.

"It is a hard decision because revenue could be reduced because of the recession and profit will be reduced because of competition. But we want to invest for our future," he said, adding that LG set aside 4 percent of total revenue R&D in 2008.

Still, the company, like its rivals, is scaling back in some areas in the face of a recession of uncertain magnitude and length. But Ahn said he did not expect to have to manage costs through major restructurings, and LG would take advantage of falling material costs.

Like other makers of televisions, mobile phones and other devices, LG faces tough questions about how to navigate the global downturn, weighing shifts in spending and innovation and the need to balance market-share gains with margins.

LG, which competes with Samsung Electronics and Sony Corp globally, unveiled a dozen high-definition TVs on Wednesday in sizes ranging from 19 to 60 inches. That marked a departure from past practice when TV makers competed to see which could make the largest screen.