LeEco to Officially Launch in the U.S. Next Month
Chinese consumer electronics company LeEco plans to officially launch in the U.S. next month. The company sent out invitations to journalists Thursday for an official launch event on October 19.
The invite features renderings of a TV, a phone, a bike, a car and a VR headset, suggesting that LeEco is prepared to launch all of its major products to U.S. customers.
LeEco got its start in 2004 under the name LeTV as a Chinese digital video service, and has in recent years expanded to produce a wide variety of consumer electronics products. The company aims to differentiate its products from the competition by also providing its own services, including on-demand and live video streaming.
LeEco has also been engaged in original content production through its LeVision Pictures subsidiary, which co-financed “The Expendables 2” and is behind the Matt Damon-starring movie “The Great Wall.”
LeEco has done some considerable spending to enter the U.S. market: The company has opened an office in San Jose and hired key talent from competitors; some of its high-profile hires include Samsung’s former SVP of HR Shawn Williams, Samsung’s former COO Danny Bowman and Samsung’s former Chief Marketing Officer Todd Pendleton. Earlier this week, LeEco also announced the hire of former Qualcomm exec Rob Chandhok as its new head of R&D.
In July, LeEco announced the acquisition of Vizio for $2 billion. It’s still unclear how the company plans to market both Vizio’s as well as its own TV sets, but the Vizio acquisition could conceivably help LeEco to forge the retail partnerships necessary for its entrance into the U.S. market.
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