LG G4 reportedly under-performing in South Korea

The rather impressive LG G4 has had three months on the market in South Korea in which to win over consumers, but the smartphone does not appear to be living up to its sales expectations. The latest report from Korea states that just over 240,000 units have sold in the country since launch.

While not a terrible figure itself, it falls well short of industry estimates and comes at a time when LG had been hoping to boost yearly smartphone sales. The company set itself a lofty target of 70 million smartphones for 2015, which is now in doubt if the company is struggling with domestic sales. For comparison, Samsung has sold over 1.3 million Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge handsets in South Korea so far. LG wasn’t aiming for quite these levels, but this is a rather large gap between the two.

This is not the first time that we have heard mutterings about an underwhelming G4 performance. Last month analysts cut LG’s Q2 earnings expectations because second quarter shipments were set to come in at just under 2.5 million units, again missing its target. You can’t help but wonder if the G4 is suffering from a lack of demand worldwide.

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Given the high quality of LG’s latest flagship, the exact cause of the disappointing sales figures is difficult to pinpoint. Some have suggested that the impressive and more unique looking Galaxy S6 Edge is pinching much of the high-end demand. It is also possible that some customers are waiting to see what LG had planned for its second flagship later in the year or that some simply don’t see the G4 as a big enough upgrade over the G3.

Of course, this is not to say that LG’s wider smartphone range is suffering from the same problems. But without its flagship putting in a big performance, it is looking increasingly unlikely that LG will miss its 70 million smartphones target this year.