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Tag: Los Angeles

  • TCL Sues Samsung in US Court over Alleged Mini LED Television Claims

    TCL Sues Samsung in US Court over Alleged Mini LED Television Claims

    Chinese electronics manufacturer TCL sued Samsung in Los Angeles federal court, accusing its South Korean competitor of falsely marketing standard screens as Mini LED televisions.

    The complaint targets Samsung’s M Model line, which launched in March at price points below TCL’s entry-level display range. TCL claims the rival sets contain conventional LED hardware rather than the smaller, high-contrast diodes required for true Mini LED performance.

    Dispute Over Screen Technology

    According to the filing, TCL held the lead in US Mini LED television sales between 2023 and 2025 after pricing its units below Samsung’s premium lines. TCL attorney R.C. Harlan stated that Samsung peddled a recycled product line as a supreme tier model to claw back retail buyers.

    Samsung rejected the claims on Tuesday. The company said it intends to vigorously defend itself in court and stands fully behind the accuracy of its product specifications.

    Fight for US Market Share

    Chinese display makers have steadily squeezed South Korean rivals by scaling up advanced panel manufacturing in mainland factories, driving down retail prices across Western markets. While Samsung built its dominance on premium OLED and Quantum Dot hardware, TCL used competitive Mini LED pricing to erode Samsung’s volume share in major retail chains.

    TCL is asking the court for an injunction to halt Samsung’s Mini LED marketing claims alongside unspecified monetary damages. The case now moves toward initial procedural hearings in the Central District of California.

  • VinFast announces US headquarters in Los Angeles

    VinFast announces US headquarters in Los Angeles

    VinFast on Wednesday announced its U.S. headquarters will be located in Los Angeles, California, affirming its goal to become a global automaker spearheaded by electric vehicles.

    The company’s U.S. headquarters is located in the Playa Vista area – a neighborhood known as “Silicon Beach” and packed with tech firms in Los Angeles.

    “We are so proud to welcome VinFast to our city as we continue leading the way to a better-connected, cleaner, and more sustainable transportation future,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

    The headquarters is over 15,000 square feet (1,393 square meters) with room to expand.

    VinFast intends to establish its management team and hire more than 400 employees at its headquarters and a regional office in Los Angeles within the next several years.

    In addition to its corporate headquarters in Los Angeles, VinFast is investing in regional offices, a call center, and a network of storefronts to help introduce the brand and products to American customers.

    VinFast’s decision to place its U.S. headquarters in California was due in part to a $20.5 million tax credit awarded by the California Governor’s Office.

    The California government’s announcement, released on Nov. 5, builds on VinFast’s investment of more than $200 million in its initial phase in California, thus creating over 1,000 new, full-time jobs statewide.

    VinFast, a unit of Vietnam’s conglomerate Vingroup, will officially debut two of its first electric vehicles, the VF e35 and VF e36, at Los Angeles Auto Show that begins this week.

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  • Shinsegae’s Emart to bring its fancy PK Market store to LA next year

    Shinsegae’s Emart to bring its fancy PK Market store to LA next year

    Discount chain Emart will launch its PK Market grocery store chain in downtown Los Angeles in the second half of next year.

    This is Emart’s first expansion into the U.S. market.

    The company said that it signed a 10-year contract on a 4,803-square-meter (1.18-acre) space inside LA Jewelry Mart, which is located in the Jewelry District of Downtown Los Angeles.

    “As the rent contract was signed, we’re now able to further embark on procedures to plan for our business in the United States,” Emart said in a statement.

    During the contract period, Emart will occupy three floors of the six-floor building. PK Market will take up the basement and second floors, while the third floor is planned to be used as an office for the local discount chain.

    This red-brick structure was built in 1916 and was first used to house the Ville de Paris department store. In the building’s early days, the neighborhood was the city’s commercial center and had one of the largest jewelry districts in the United States.

    Downtown Los Angeles lost its shine in recent decades compared to other areas of the city, but development projects in the area have increased lately as more people and proprietors are getting interested in the charm of the old district.

    Emart said it approved of the location, considering that there are a number of ongoing developments that will transform the area once they are completed.

    “The building itself sits inside the Historic Core where the city office is, near South Park and the Financial District – it’s a part of town that has quite a floating population,” the company said.

    Emart’s plan to take its brick-and-mortar business to the United States – a rare move for a Korean retailer – was unveiled in March by Shinsegae Vice President Chung Yong-jin. Chung said the U.S. version of PK Market will present a wide array of Asian foods, including Korean products.

    PK Market currently has branches in the Starfield malls in Hanam and Goyang, Gyeonggi. It is built around a “grocerant” concept, in which restaurants, food stalls and a high-end grocery store coexist in one space.

    Emart added that, while the concept will remain the same, the name PK Market may be changed for the U.S. market.

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  • Vietnam confirms plan to fly non-stop to California in 2018

    Vietnam confirms plan to fly non-stop to California in 2018

    Vietnam’s government has approved plans to expand its air network to major markets including Australia, China, Europe and the United States starting from this year.

    According to the plan, Vietnam Airlines will go through with its proposal to open non-stop services to the U.S., starting with direct flights to the west coast in 2018. The national carrier is considering between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

    The U.S. proposal was revealed a couple of years ago and received much excitement, given busy travel between the countries. The U.S. is the fourth largest source of foreign visitors to Vietnam, with more than 614,000 people coming in 2017, up 11 percent from the previous year, according to the General Statistics Office.

    Aircraft manufacturer Airbus said in September 2016 that it had signed an MoU with Vietnam Airlines to deliver 10 A350-900 aircraft, which will be used for non-stop flights to the U.S.

    But the giant economy across the Pacific is just part Vietnam’s sky plan.

    For its neighbor China, Vietnam is set to open dozens of new flights by 2020.

    The new routes will connect Can Tho, Da Lat, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Hue, Nha Trang and Phu Quoc Island of Vietnam with at least 17 Chinese destinations: Changchun, Chongqing, Dalian, Fuzhou, Guilin, Guiyang, Haikou, Hainan, Harbin, Lanzhou, Ningbo, Shenyang, Wuhan, Xi’an, Xiamen, Xishuangbanna and Zhengzhou.

    Current flights to Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shanghai will increase passenger load by adding to their frequency and using bigger aircraft, according to the development plan which has been approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

    Chinese passengers to Vietnam surged nearly 50 percent to more than 4 million in 2017, accounting for nearly a third of foreign arrivals to the country.

    Vietnam’s aviation development plan also involves new flights to Australia, France, India, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, and the U.K., all of which now benefit from Vietnam’s e-visa and visa waiver programs.

    The country welcomed nearly 13 million foreign visitors and raked in nearly VND515 trillion ($22.7 billion) from tourism in 2017. It hopes the new air routes will bring the number of visitors up to 17-20 million in the next two years, when tourism money will contribute 10-12 percent to the economy, compared to the current 7 percent.

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  • Los Angeles’ Dita opens second store in Tokyo

    Los Angeles’ Dita opens second store in Tokyo

    Los Angeles eyewear brand Dita has opened its latest Tokyo store this week, marking its second Japanese and global location.

    Located in the capital’s Minami Aoyama 5-chome, the Dita store covers 69 square metres andrepresents Dita’s latest retail concept, combining “the focus of a design showroom with the attentive service of an optical laboratory,” according to the company.

    Dita stores have been conceptualised by Mandi and Mehdi Rafaty of West Hollywood’s Tag Front. Italian stone mingles with plated aluminium, for a contemporary simplicity known to the America design dup. The Aoyama store also boasts a window on the south-facing facade extending from the floor to the ceiling.

    “We focused on materials and techniques that combine the warmth of turn-of-the-century design movements, like the Vienna Secession, rendered with contemporary technology and materials,” Dustin Edward Arnold, creative director of Dita Group, said in a statement.

    As well as Dita’s premium sunglasses, the store offers a range of technical services as part of its specialised ‘Dita Lab,’ including the provision of lens and frame prescriptions. Collections from Thom Browne Eyewear and Christian Roth, which Dita acquired last year, will also be on sale.

    Dita first entered the international retail space with a store opening in Daikanyama, Tokyo, in 2003.

  • PAL suspends Cebu-Los Angeles service

    PAL suspends Cebu-Los Angeles service

    THE Philippine Airlines (PAL) announced Monday, that it will “temporarily suspend” its Cebu-Los Angeles service effective May 30. In its advisory, the airline company said “the suspension of the Cebu-Los Angeles service is being carried out as PAL rationalizes capacity on the route.”

    “PAL is seeking the kind understanding of affected passengers as the airline implements these operational adjustments,” it said. PAL said passengers with tickets of the Cebu-Los Angeles flights dated May 30 and onwards may re-route and/or rebook their flights to Cebu-Manila-Los Angeles flights.

    Those with Los Angeles-Cebu flights may re-route and/or rebok their flights to Los Angeles-Manila-Cebu. The company added that it can also refund the cost of tickets of those affected passengers. “Affected passengers are advised to avail themselves of any of these options within 30 days from original flight dates, with rebooking/refunding charges waived,” PAL said. It said it will “communicate with affected passengers via email notification and call-out.”

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  • Los Angeles hotdog chain opens Pink’s Manila

    Los Angeles hotdog chain opens Pink’s Manila

    Los Angeles’ Pink’s Hotdog chain opens in the Philippines today at the Shangri-la Fort in Bonifacio Global City.

    Pink’s Manila is the chain’s first international branch.The Hollywood legend established in 1939 has partnered with Pink’s family and Wildflour & Farmacy Manila to enter the Philippine market.

    Owners Richard and Gloria Pink are in Manila to attend the grand opening of Pink’s Manila at the ground floor of the newly opened hotel.

    Architect Lara Fernandez Barrios designed the “L.A. style biergarten” interiors based on Chef Walter Manzke’s concept for the Manila  branch.

    The new store features a converted Volkswagen Combi housing Farmacy’s ice cream shop and soda fountain stand, and soon, a bar that will be serving cocktails and mostly craft beers on draft.

    Tentative opening store hours will be from 11am to 2am, but are subject to change.