Philips starts sale of lighting fixtures in the Brazilian market in June
Valor Econômico
Philips will start selling light fixtures and lamps in Brazil, a segment in which no brand is well-known by the consumers. The first light fixtures of the Dutch multinational produced in China will get to the Brazilian stores like Lustres Yamamura and C&C in June. There will be nearly 300 models with several prices, covering from AA to C class, and the Philips brand will be displayed in the products. The multinational is one of the biggest world producers of light bulbs, business that originated the group in Holland, in 1891. In that segment, the company has three plants in Brazil: in Recife (PE), Varginha (MG) and Capoava (SP).
The decision going into the market of light fixtures is part of the global strategy of Philips, called "sense and simplicity", in which the company started giving preference to products associated to life style and health instead of "commodities", like televisions, whose net profits are lower. The Dutch multinational starred in the segment of light fixtures by purchasing the biggest producer of the sector in Europe, Belgian PLI, whose participation in the European market is of nearly 7%.
The company has two large plants in China, even though it has a smaller unit in Belgium, to produce special light fixtures. In Europe, PLI has several brands, among which Massive, the best known of them. But in Brazil, Phillips chose to use its own name, which, in the assessment of the company, will provide it a competitive advantage. According to Yoon Young Kim, vice-president of the lighting division of Phillips in Brazil, most people does not associate the brands of the light fixtures to the producers but to the retailers, like the stores located at Avenida da Consolação, in downtown São Paulo, or to stores that sell building material.
There are no statistics about the size of the market of light fixtures and lamps in Brazil, where such business is very spread out. "We hope to get 10% of market share and take over the leadership in the Brazilian market within three or four years", affirms Kim.