LG renames premium built-in appliance brand; Moody’s outlook up

LG Electronics Inc., South Korea’s top appliance maker, has rebranded its 10-year-old premium built-in kitchen appliance business to double down on the global built-in appliance market.

The company announced on Thursday that its high-end built-in appliance business, Signature Kitchen Suite, will start anew under the new brand SKS.

Launched in 2016, the premium built-in kitchen appliance line has rapidly grown into a major luxury built-in kitchen brand in North America and Europe.

In 2023, top US lifestyle magazine Good Housekeeping rated LG Signature as one of its top 10 luxury built-in kitchen appliance brands, according to its tests and reviews.

Following the name change, the Korean appliance giant will accelerate its inroads into the global premium built-in kitchen appliance market, it said.

According to Euromonitor, the global built-in market is forecast to reach $64.5 billion this year after steady expansion.  

Early last year, LG Electronics vowed to rake in more than 1 trillion won ($695 million) in global sales of built-in appliances by 2027 with new models reinforced by artificial intelligence technologies.

The company, also the world's No. 1 home appliance maker, earned about 500 billion won in global built-in appliance sales in 2023.

AI-POWERED, PREMIUM BUILT-IN KITCHEN APPLIANCE

The Korean tech giant will unveil a wide collection of upscale kitchen appliances at the 2025 Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) in Las Vegas Feb. 25-27. The KBIS is the biggest kitchen and bath trade show held every year in the US.

At this year’s show, LG Electronics will showcase its new 36-inch cook zone-free induction Pro Range, featuring the industry’s first free-zone cooking surface range, the company said. Its users can place cookware anywhere on the cooktop to operate it.

This range also comes with an advanced convection system for fast and even cooking, steam technology to preserve meal quality, a built-in camera for real-time monitoring and LG’s Gourmet AI for intelligent and precise heating control.

Visitors to the show will also discover the new SKS dishwasher, as well as the SKS Island System, integrated with a hidden induction cooktop that is not visible when not in use and a downdraft ventilation system with SKS’s proprietary air curtain technology, LG explained. 

After KBIS 2025, the Korean electronics giant will roll out a comprehensive brand renewal across retail stores and showrooms.

It also plans to add a new SKS showroom in the US to expand its presence.

MOODY’S UPGRADES RATING OUTLOOK

Citing LG Electronics’ solid global brand power, Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday upgraded the Korean company’s credit rating outlook from “Stable” to “Positive” on Tuesday, marking its first revision in LG Electronics' credit outlook in four years.

Moody's positive outlook indicates a greater likelihood of a future credit rating upgrade, whereas a company’s rating is unlikely to change with a stable outlook. Moody’s reaffirmed LG Electronics’ credit rating at Baa2.

“The adjustment is based on LG Electronics’ global brand presence, leading market position, and high business and geographic diversification,” Moody’s stated.

“Despite rising uncertainties, such as tariff hikes and weak demand for certain products, the company is expected to maintain stable profitability.”

In response to the US threat to impose tariffs on most imports, LG Electronics is considering adding new manufacturing lines near its only US appliance manufacturing plant in Tennessee to churn out refrigerators there.

Moody’s also attributed the outlook revision to the improved financial health of the electronics giant's display-making unit LG Display Co.

Considering that LG Electronics holds a 36.72% stake in LG Display, the latter’s enhanced financial soundness could lead to the former’s equity method profits, said Moody’s.

LG Electronics ended up 1.2% at 82,500 won on Thursday, outperforming the broad Kospi market's 0.7% loss.

Write to Chae-Yeon Kim at why29@hankyung.com

Sookyung Seo edited this article.