Philips is a brand that many of us are familiar with on the consumer front. The company has released products such as DVD and Blu-ray players, HiFi systems, audio equipment, home lighting and the likes, but it looks like its days as a consumer electronics business has come to an end as the company has announced (via The Wall Street Journal) that they have sold off their audio, video, multimedia and accessories division to Japanese company, Funai, for a little over $200 million in cash as well as a brand license fee. According to Philips’ Chief Executive Frans van Houten, “Since we have online entertainment, people do not buy Blu-ray and DVD players anymore,” suggesting that the company has been having some difficulty addressing the needs of today’s digital media consumers.
The transfer of the video division of Philips to Funai is expected to take place in 2017, and as far as the future of the company is concerned, Philips is expected to focus their efforts in the medical industry as well as its LED lighting systems, such as the Hue LED light bulb which can be controlled via a smartphone app.
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