PHILIPS INDIA LTD
COMPANY PROFILE
Philips is a Dutch multinational engineering and electronics conglomerate headquartered
in Amsterdam. It was founded in Eindhoven in 1891 by Gerard Philips and his father
Frederik. It is one of the largest electronics companies in the world and employs around
122,000 people across more than 60 countries. Philips is organized into three main
divisions: Philips Consumer Lifestyle (formerly Philips Consumer Electronics and Philips
Domestic Appliances and Personal Care), Philips Healthcare (formerly Philips Medical
Systems) and Philips Lighting. As of 2012 Philips was the largest manufacturer of lighting
in the world measured by applicable revenues. In 2013, the company sold the bulk of its
remaining consumer electronics operations to Funai Electric Co.
CONSUMER ELECTRONIC INDUSTRY
The electronic industry in India took off around 1965 with an orientation towards space
and defense technologies. This was rigidly controlled and initiated by the government.
This was followed by developments in consumer electronics mainly with transistor radios,
black and white TV, calculator’s and other audio products. Color televisions soon
followed. In 1982 a significant year in the history of TV in India – the government allowed
thousands of color TV sets to be imported into the country to coincide with the broadcast
of Asian games in New Delhi. 1985 saw the advent of computers and telephone exchanges,
which were succeeded by digital exchanges in 1988. The period between 1984 and 1990
was a golden period for electronics during which the industry witnessed continuous and
rapid growth. From 1991 onwards, there was first, an economic crisis triggered by the Gulf
War which was followed by political and economic uncertainties with the country.
Pressure on the electronic industries remained though growth and developments have
continued with digitalization in all sectors, and more recently the trend towards
convergence of technologies. After the software boom in mid 1990’s India’s focus shifted
to software. The hardware sector was treated with indifference by successive
governments. More over the steep fall in custom tariffs made the hardware sector suddenly
vulnerable to international competition.
In recent years the electronic industry is growing at a brisk pace. It is currently worth US$
32 billion and according to industry estimates it has the potential to reach US$150 billion
by 2012. The largest segment is the consumer electronics segment. While is largest export
segment is of components. The electronic industry in India constitutes just 0.7% of the
global electronic industry. Hence it is miniscule by international comparison. However the
demand in the Indian market is growing rapidly and investments are flowing into augment
manufacturing capacity.
The output of the electronic hardware industry in India is worth US$11.6 billion at present.
India is also an exporter of a vast range of electronic components and products for the
following segments. Display technologies Entertainment electronics Optical storage
devices Passive components Electromechanical components Telecom equipment
Transmission and signaling equipment Semiconductor designing Electronic manufacturing
services This growth has attracted global players to India and leaders like Solectron,
Flextronics, Sony, Panasonic, Philips, Nokia, Elcoteq and many more have made large
investments to access the Indian market. The consumer electronics Korean companies such
as LG and Samsung have made commitments by establishing large manufacturing
facilities and now enjoy a significant share in the growing market for products such as
Televisions, CD/DVD players, Audio equipment and other entertainment products.
Consumer electronic goods are those which don’t wear out quickly, yield in gutility over
time rather than at once. They can be further classified as either white goods, such as
refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners or brown goods such as blenders,
cooking ranges and microwaves or consumer electronics such as televisions and DVD
players. Such big-ticket items typically continue to be serviceable for three years at least
and are characterized by long inter-purchase times. Performance In the past 10 years, the
global market has witnessed a surge in demand as economies such as Brazil, Mexico, India
and China have opened up and begun rapid development, welcoming globalization with
lan. The consumer durables industry has always exhibited impressive growth despite
strong competition
And constant price cutting and the first contraction since the 2001 dot-combust has been
due to the global recession. Given the strong correlation between demand for durables
(both new and replacements) and income, the industry naturally suffered during the
2008-2009 period. However, projections for current year going forward are very
optimistic, as consumers resumes pending, and producers launch new enticing variants to
grab new customers. Leading players include Sony Corporation, Toshiba Corporation,
Whirlpool Corporation and Panasonic Corporation. Developing countries such as India and
China have largely been shielded from the backlash of the recession, as consumers
continued to buy basic appliances. In fact, China has been ranked the second-biggest
market in the world for consumer electronics. Despite the recession, their strong domestic
economy and growing high-income population have buoyed demand leading to aggressive
market growth .There is growing interest for new age products such as LCD-TVs and
DVD players. Meanwhile, the penetration of the basic, largest dollar items such as ovens,
washing machines and refrigerators is also increasing. India too, has witnessed a similar
phenomenon, with the urban consumer durables market growing at almost 10 %p.a., and
the rural durables market growing at 25% p.a. Some high-growth categories within this
segment include mobile phones, TVs and music systems. The Indian consumer durables
industry has witnessed a considerable change in the past couple of years. Changing
lifestyle, higher disposable income coupled with greater affordability and a surge in
advertising has been instrumental in bringing about a sea change in the consumer behavior
