TV sets for Russia will be assembled in Poland
[ad_1]
The Polish plant of the South Korean LG began to install software for Smart TVs adapted for the Russian market on manufactured TVs. The devices supplied by parallel imports are pre-installed with Russian online cinemas and have support for the Alisa voice assistant. On other TVs, LG Smart TV simply does not work. Lawyers say that installing the software does not violate sanctions, but if the plant provides support to Russian consumers in one way or another, this could create problems. Deliveries from Poland so far amount to thousands of devices, and the brand’s share in Russia has already fallen noticeably.
A Kommersant source in the electronics market said that the Polish plant LG, which, after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, stopped official deliveries to the Russian Federation and production in the Moscow region, began installing Smart TV software for Russia on TVs. According to him, televisions are officially imported into Belarus, from where they are delivered to the Russian Federation through parallel imports.
A separate line for the production of TV sets for the CIS, including the Russian Federation, was created at the plant in Mlava, the source explained. Kommersant found in the Unified Register of Certificates of Conformity that in April, AV Distri LLC received a declaration for the supply of a number of LG TV models from Poland. Kommersant sent a request to AV Distri LLC.
“The fact is that TVs that are not adapted to our region can only broadcast terrestrial television, and Smart TV does not work on them,” explains the interlocutor of Kommersant. On the site of the Svyaznoy store, Kommersant found an LG TV with Smart TV for sale, but the product description says that the function is not supported in Russia. In “Svyaznoy” they did not answer “Kommersant”.
The administrator of one of the Moscow stores selling LG equipment (listed as a branded one on the Russian website of the vendor) confirmed that all TVs sold on the network are shipped from Poland with a working Smart TV function. It is adapted to the requirements of Russian legislation, the Kommersant correspondent was convinced: the Kinopoisk, Wink, Okko and other applications are preinstalled. The TVs also support the Alisa voice assistant.
The sales assistant at the Technopark store said that most of the LG TVs in their network are made in Indonesia, but some are actually from Poland. In “Technopark” did not answer “Kommersant”. LG representative in Russia Tatyana Shakhnes did not respond to Kommersant’s messages and calls.
As a rule, a standard Android TV shell is installed on non-adapted TVs, at a European factory it will be a version for Europe, most likely, even with support for the Russian language, they explain in the F + tech – Marvel Group of Companies. According to them, LG TVs can be supplied from Poland through parallel imports, but if the manufacturer produces equipment specifically for the Russian market, the device system must have mandatory programs, for example, Kinopoisk: “There will be no Russian applications on an unadapted Smart TV, only Prime Video, Netflix and more.”
An interlocutor of Kommersant in the electronics market said that the operation of Smart TV in a particular region depends on the policy of the manufacturer: “A few years ago, there were cases when Samsung blocked TVs in Russia that were not intended for our region in order to prevent illegal imports. Also, TVs not intended for the Russian Federation may be limited in functions. According to a Kommersant source, for other CIS countries, except for Russia, large electronics manufacturers did not make a separate firmware.
By adapting TVs for the Russian Federation, the Polish plant LG does not formally violate the sanctions, Mergen Doraev, partner at the EMPP Law Office, emphasizes: “But if, for example, the Polish branch further provides consulting services for software support to Russian consumers, the company may have problems, from fines to criminal cases “.
According to the interlocutor of Kommersant among manufacturers and importers of electronics, in the first quarter of 2023, 33 thousand LG TVs were delivered to the Russian Federation, of which 25 thousand were from Indonesia, 2.6 thousand were received from Poland. The source notes that in total in the Russian Federation about 990 thousand TV sets were imported, of which about 60% are Chinese brands. Due to the exit from the Russian market, LG’s share in the TV segment decreased from 19.1% in January 2022 to 4.2% in January 2023, and cheaper domestic brands occupied more than 20% of the total market.
[ad_2]
Source link
