Dale Snyders re-joined the LG Electronics (LGE) team officially on 8 January 2018 as the new general manager for the air-conditioning department. He hopes to build trust in the brand again and grow it to new heights.
Snyders is no stranger to LGE as he worked for the company from 2000 until 2012 before joining other brands in the HVAC market, giving him an ‘all-Africa experience’.
After seeing how things have changed and improved at LG locally, Snyders considered the offer to return to the brand he knows so well. He is very enthusiastic about this opportunity and confident that the brand can be restored to its former glory.
“In the past, we went through a very difficult season as a company,” Snyders admits. “LGE outgrew themselves and it became difficult to manage the distribution of the product. Because of this rapid growth, getting stock and spares to customers and spares became a problem. But it is in those difficult times that you build character,” he says. "The LG product is still the best value for money."
A lot has changed since then – for the better, the product channel to market is streamlined and efficient. Snyders has plans to restore LG’s reputation in the market. This includes dispelling the rumours that LG doesn’t have spares. He gets a daily email on the fill ratio, showing which percentage of spares is in stock when the enquiry is received. In the last four years, the company has maintained an average of 93%.
The reporting lines have also been improved, allowing a quicker turnaround time on decisions. In the past, the local LGE office used to report directly to Seoul in South Korea. This was not very efficient because of the time difference. This was frustrating for local staff and customers alike. But now LGE has set up a regional headquarters in Dubai (which is in the same time zone) and decisions can be made more efficiently now.
There is also a renewed focus on people – both externally and internally. “I want to have the best air-conditioning supply company that I could possibly have,” says Snyders. “And I want LG staff to be the best that they can possibly be. That is what I’m going to do – I’m going to focus on people first.”
Snyders is positive that the company is experiencing an upswing again and that the future looks bright. “Trust is important and that’s why I’m going to work hard at rebuilding the trust of our clients through good people.”
“We went through a bad period but let's leave that behind us” says Dale. “Going forward we want to offer the industry the very best LG products at the very best price and with readily available spare parts to back them up.”
There are some exciting products in the pipeline for LGE this year, so watch this space.
“We are going to return LG to its rightful place in this market – at the top!” concludes Snyders.
