Have you heard the news?
LG has stopped manufacturing phones!
Is it good news for cell phone parts suppliers and repair shop owners? Let’s find out!
The plant is transitioning to making home appliances and other electronics LG provides to its consumers. The company officially confirmed its exit from the cell phone business in early April of 2021. However, they need some time to shift operations. Cell phone users loyal to the brand will be able to receive after-sale services for 4 years from the date of manufacture of the device.
But the bigger question that remains is, how will this affect the cell phone repair industry at large?
The Impact on the Cell Phone Repair Industry
With LG mobile phone production winding down, this is a good time for other companies to enter or expand into the market. LG phones are still very popular, especially in Asia and Europe. These areas should see some exciting changes over the next few years. We might get to see some new competition coming into play that will take over the market space that LG has left behind.
There are a couple of questions that remain with the company’s dramatic exit from the mobile phone manufacturing market though. What will happen to spare parts that have been manufactured by LG? Will they just go to waste or be sold cheaply via third-party cell phone parts suppliers? Will they be available for repair shops to purchase to service customer devices?
In a world that is focusing increasingly on the environmental impact of electronics, these are important things to consider.
LG had a tough time in the mobile phone industry with other companies like Samsung and Apple who have led the market for more than a decade now. The electronics company has been making phones for 20 years. But it hasn’t always had an easy ride for them either. It doesn’t help that LG had not been performing that well financially over the past few months.
There were rumors earlier on that it was planning to sell its entire mobile division, but how much interest would there be for its technology or workforce? It’s hard enough selling off assets at their full value, especially when they aren’t doing too well.
LG announced that the LG G Watch was their attempt at an Android smartwatch. But it wasn’t well-received, and the company then decided to stop production of its mobile phone division. It said it will continue working with Google for future Nexus products. However, LG hasn’t been very good when making phones in general. So, we don’t know what this means for them either.
The next question is: who owns all these devices and replacement parts?
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How will the Parts Reach Repair Shop?
There has been some solace with the entire situation, though. LG has stated that parts will be available for the next four years, which should see some devices being serviced beyond 2024. From a repairer’s perspective, this is good news. There are opportunities for them to gain clients from people who may have been with the company since their device was new. These ex-employees would want those devices maintained properly rather than throwing them out due to a lack of spare parts.
And also, you won’t have to do any cleaning on your cell phone repair store POS software any time soon.
Sure, manufacturers such as Apple, Google, etc. can also work as cell phone parts suppliers or become direct customers on where these can be purchased from. Third-party cell phone accessories suppliers in the USA can also take over.
However, I feel that mobile phone companies need to play a bigger role in maintaining their product’s life cycle. The product should be designed so they’re easy to repair by someone other than just the original manufacturer.
A record 53.6 million metric tons of electronic waste was generated globally in 2019. And most of it was from devices going obsolete. So we know the sort of impact it has on the environment.
The Opportunity for the Cell Phone Repair Industry
This move by LG is a great opportunity for the cell phone repair industry to grow and play its part in reducing electronic waste. It goes to show that the company doesn’t want its phones thrown out into the garbage once they’re broken. I’m excited to see what will happen next!
Repair shops are now faced with the question of whether they should change their product range to only include products that don’t break, or do they have to buy one separately? It’s likely that nothing has changed too much since there are still laws protecting consumers from faulty goods and manufacturers’ guarantees.
LG confirmed that their mobile phones will still receive after-sale services for four years from the date of manufacture. This means if you have an LG smartphone and it breaks, the company will fix it or replace your phone within those four years.
But what about the ones out of warranty? Will there still be LG cell phone accessories wholesale suppliers with a supply chain for repair shops to keep them alive?
Repair shops will soon be able to get parts directly from LG and/or their local distributors. If the shop is a registered member of the Mobile Network Repair Association, they will have access to all replacement parts available in South Korea, regardless of whether they were manufactured by LG or not.
There should be no problem when it comes time for repair. However, this does pose an issue outside South Korea. It might be hard for non-Korean customers to find affordable aftermarket part suppliers.
You can look into your cell phone repair software vendor integrations for cheaper options.
But this is something we’ll just have to wait and see on, I guess. All we know now is that you shouldn’t worry too much. Many aftermarket parts are already available from third-party distributors.
Conclusion
We can expect more manufacturers competing on price rather than pushing innovation forward. But LG’s legacy will live on through its replacement parts. The transition from manufacturing mobile devices may mean big things for LG fans looking to get their hands on brand-new units of previous models who might not find it so easy without having an original manufacturer backing them.
What do you think about LG leaving the mobile phone business? Let us know your thoughts! We hope you’ve enjoyed reading our blog post today 🙂
