Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Royal Philips Electronics N.V.), usually known as Philips, (, ) is one of the largest electronics companies in the world, founded and headquartered in the Netherlands. In 2006, its sales were €26.976 billion http://www.philips.com/mt/ir/2006results/report and it employed 125,500 people in more than 60 countrieshttp://www.philips.com/mt/ir/2006results/report. Philips is organized in a number of divisions: Philips Consumer Electronics, Philips Lighting, Philips Medical Systems and Philips Domestic Appliances and Personal Care. Philips is the main sponsor of football club PSV.
HistoryThe company was founded in 1891 by Gerard Philips, a maternal cousin of Karl Marx, in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Its first products were light bulbs 'and other electrotechnical equipment'. Its first factory remains as a museum. In the 1920s, the company started to manufacture other products, such as vacuum tubes, In 1927 they acquired the British vacuum tube manufacturers Mullard and in 1932 the German tube manufacturer Valvo, both of which became subsidiaries. In 1939 they introduced their electric razor, the ''Philishave'' (marketed in the USA using the Norelco brand name).
World War II
On May 9, 1940, the Philips directors were informed about the Germaninvasion of the Netherlands to take place on May 10. They decided to leave the country and flee to the United States, taking a large amount of the company capital with them. Operating from the US as the North American Philips Company, they managed to run the company throughout the war. At the same time, the company itself was moved to the Netherlands Antilles (on paper) to keep it out of German hands.
It is also believed that Philips - both before and during the war - supplied enormous amounts of electric equipment to the German occupation forces, which has led some people to think that the company collaborated with the Nazis, like many other firms in their day. However, there is no evidence to suggest that Philips itself or its management ever sympathized with the Nazis or their ideologies. The only Philips family member who did not leave the country, Frits Philips, saved the lives of 382 Jews by indicating to the Nazis that they were indispensable for the production process at Philips[http://www.newscenter.philips.com/about/news/section-13674/article-14959.html. In 1996, he was awarded the Yad Vashem reward by the Israeli ambassador for his actions. There is little Philips could have done to prevent the Germans from abusing their production facilities and forcing their employees to perform slave labor during the occupation. The production facility in Eindhoven was the only Dutch industrial target that was deliberately bombed by the allied forces during the war.
Postwar eraAfter the war the company was moved back to the Netherlands, with their headquarters in Eindhoven. Many secret research facilities had been locked and successfully hidden from the invaders, which allowed the company to get up to speed again quickly after the war.
Philips introduced the compact audio cassette tape in 1963 and was wildly successful, though its attempt to set a standard for video cassette recorders, the V2000, was unsuccessful in the face of competition from the Betamax and especially VHS standards.
In 1982, Philips developed the Compact Disc in partnership with Sony.
In 1991, the company's name was changed from N.V. Philips Gloeilampenfabrieken to Philips Electronics N.V. At the same time, North American Philips was formally dissolved, and a new corporate division was formed in the U.S. with the name Philips Electronics North America Corp.
In 1997 the decision was made to move to Amsterdam, along with the corporate name change to Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. The move was completed in 2001. Initially, the company was housed in the Rembrandt tower, but in 2002 they moved again, this time to the Breitner tower. In a sense, the move to Amsterdam can be considered a return to the company's roots, because Gerard Philips lived in Amsterdam when he came up with the idea of building a light bulbfactory. He also conducted his first experiments in the field of mass production of light bulbs there, together with Jan Reesse. Philips Lighting, Philips Research, Philips Semiconductors (spun off as NXP in September 2006) and Philips Design, are still based in Eindhoven. Philips Medical is headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts, United States (since moving from Best, Netherlands in 2002).
In December 2005, Philips announced its intention to make the Semiconductor Division into a separate legal entity. This process of "disentanglement" was completed on 1 October2006.
On 2 August2006, Philips completed an agreement to sell a controlling 80.1% stake in Philips Semiconductors to a consortium of private equity investors consisting of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR), Silver Lake Partners and AlpInvest Partners. The sale completed a process, which began December 2005, with its decision to create a separate legal entity for Semiconductors and to pursue all strategic options. Six weeks before, ahead of its online dialogue, through a letter to 8,000 of Philips managers, it was announced that they were speeding up the transformation of Semiconductors into a stand-alone entity with majority ownership by a third party. It was stated then that "this is much more than just a transaction: it is probably the most significant milestone on a long journey of change for Philips and the beginning of a new chapter for every one – especially those involved with Semiconductors".
In its more than 115 year history, this counts as a big step that is definitely changing the profile of the company. Philips was one of few companies that successfully made the transition from the electrical world of the 19th century into the electronic age, starting its semiconductor activity in 1953 and building it into a global top 10 player in its industry. As such, Semiconductors was at the heart of many innovations in Philips over the past 50 years.
Agreeing to start a process that would ultimately lead to the decision to sell the Semiconductor Division therefore was one of the toughest decisions that the Board of Management ever had to make.
On 21 August2006, Bain Capital and Apax Partners announced that they had signed definitive commitments to join the expanded consortium headed by KKR that is to acquire the controlling stake in the Semiconductors Division.
Coinciding with the sale of the Semiconductor Division, Philips also announced that they would drop the word 'Electronics' from the company name, thus becoming simply Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Royal Philips N.V.).
Corporate affairsIn 2004, Philips abandoned the slogan "Let's make things better" in favour of a new one: "Sense and Simplicity".
AquisitionsCompanies acquired by Philips through the years include Amperex, Magnavox, Signetics, Mullard, VLSI, Agilent Healthcare Solutions Group, Marconi Medical Systems, ADAC Labs, ATL Ultrasound, portions of Westinghouse and the consumer electronics operations of Philco and Sylvania. Philips abandoned the Sylvania trademark which is now owned by SLI (Sylvania Lighting International) except in Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and the USA where it's owned by the Osram unit of Siemens. Philips also owns a 96.5% share in the light-emitting diode manufacturer Lumileds. In 2006 Philips bought out the company Lifeline Systems headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts. In 2007 Philips acquired the company Ximis, Inc. headquartered in El Paso, TX for their Medical Informatics Division.http://www.wallstreet-online.de/nachricht/2134241.html
Sponsorships and naming rightsPhilips sponsors the Philips Monsters of Rock festival in many countries.
In 1913, to celebrate the Dutch 100 years of independence from France, Philips founded a sports club for its employees. The club was called Philips Sport Vereniging, or PSV, as it is now known.
Worldwide presencePhilips also used to sell major household appliances (whitegoods) under the name Philips. After selling the Major Domestic Appliances division to Whirlpool Corporation it changed via Philips Whirlpool and Whirlpool Philips to Whirlpool only. Whirlpool bought a 53% stake in Philips' major appliance operations to form Whirlpool International. Whirlpool bought Philips' remaining interest in Whirlpool International in 1991.
Philips Applied Technology, Redhill, Surrey develops new products and sub-systems including digital TV and communication technologies.
Philips Business Communications, Cambridge offers voice and data communications products, specialising in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) applications, IP Telephony, data networking, voice processing, command and control systems and cordless and mobile telephony.
Philips Consumer Products, Guildford provides sales and marketing for televisions, including High Definition televisions, DVD recorders, hi-fi and portable audio, CD recorders, PC peripherals, cordless telephones, home and kitchen appliances, personal care (shavers, hair dryers, body beauty and oral hygiene ).
Philips Lighting: sales from Guildford and manufacture in Hamilton, Lanarkshire.
Philips Medical Systems, Reigate, Surrey. Sales and technical support for X-ray, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, patient monitoring, magnetic resonance, computed tomography, and resuscitation products.
IndiaPhilips started operations in India at Kolkata (Calcutta) in 1930 under the name Philips Electrical Co. (India) Pvt Ltd, comprising a staff of 75. It was a sales outlet for Philips lamps imported from overseas.
In 1938 ,Philips India set up its first Indian lamp-manufacturing factory in Kolkata. After the Second World War in 1948, Philips started manufacturing radios in Kolkata. In 1959, a second radio factory is established near Pune.
In 1957, the company is converted into a public limited company, renamed "Philips India Ltd".
In 1965 on 3rd April, the millionth Philips radio is manufactured in India.
In 1970 a new consumer electronics factory is started in Pimpri near Pune. (This factory is now closed. It was closed in 2006.)
In 1982, Philips brought colour television transmission to India with the supply of four outdoor broadcast vans to DD National during the IX Asian Games.
In 1996, the Philips Software Centre was established in Bangalore.
In 2001, Philips successfully launched the Senseo coffeemaker, first in the Netherlands and from 2002 onwards, in other countries across Europe. It produces coffee by brewing from custom-made pads containing coffee grounds. The original Senseo pads are produced by Douwe Egberts. The Senseo has been available in the US since 2004.