Philips to focus on solar lighting

Kolkata: Signify South Asia (SSA), which operates the lighting business of Phillips, is giving a special focus on solar lighting and hopes its contribution will double in its portfolio in the next four and a half years, said SSA CEO Sumit Joshi in Kolkata on Friday.At the inauguration of a Philips Smart Hub here, Joshi pointed out that Philips is going solar in a big way. “Solar is becoming a key area for us. Now it is mainly in the B2B (business to business) segment but going forward will have big role in B2C (business to customer)as well,” he added. According to Joshi, solar is growing at 20-25% annually and going forward, the contribution of solar in its revenue mix would be significant. “We have introduced solar street lighting already. Now, we are looking at retail products,” he added. Joshi added that Philips is launching dedicated hub for solar as well. The first dedicated solar hub was launched last week in Noida. “In the next three months, we shall launch solar hub in Kolkata. Bengal is one of the top markets for Philips lighting in the country,” he said.Commenting on the growth in 2023, Joshi said that in the first half of this calender year growth as a whole may not be 20% but second half could be better. “Our solar and new businesses are doing well.” Elaborating the plan for Philips Smart Hubs, the exclusive brand outlets (EBO) of Philips, he said now it has 250 outlets in India and by end of 2023, the number will go up to 300. In eastern region, Philips has 44 EBOs, which would go up to 55. In Kolkata, Joshi launched 11th EBO and was planning to add two-three more in the coming months. Currently, B2C business accounts for 55% of the revenue of the company. “This would remain the same because our B2B segment is also expanding along with B2C,” added Joshi. With a pan-India market share of 25%, Philips is the leader in the Rs 14,000-crore lighting market.