Philips health care segment growing at healthy pace

The segment now accounts for 30% of the company's overall business in India and has been posting double digit growth

Consumer electronics and lighting products major Philips India on Tuesday said its health care and wellness segment was growing faster than industry.

The segment now accounts for 30 per cent of the company's overall business in India and has been posting double digit growth.

Philips' "sleep labs", which aid doctors diagnose and treat sleep disorders, are also getting popular. The company had already set up 200 sleep labs at hospitals across India, of which 19 are installed in Uttar Pradesh alone. Lucknow has 9 such labs.

"The healthcare segment is growing very fast and our growth has been higher than the industry average," Philips marketing head Vivek Sharma told Business Standard here.

The company is now the domestic leader in the segment from being number two player three years back. He said the company worked closely with hospitals and was expanding both in the metros and Tier-II and-III cities.

Philips' wellness portfolio includes medical equipment used in radiology, cardiology, oncology, respiratory and critical care, besides 'sleep labs'.

Sharma was in town to unveil Philips' new range of LED and ambience lighting accessories in the UP market. LED is said to be 80 per cent energy efficient compared to conventional products and have a longer lifespan, notwithstanding steeper prices.

The domestic lighting market is pegged at about Rs 10,000 crore and growing exponentially keeping pace with real estate and housing sector growth.

"We have collaborated with different state governments and local municipal bodies in energy efficient street lighting solutions. Such projects have been done in West Bengal, Rajasthan, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh," he claimed.

Philips has an R&D facility in Noida for developing India-specific lighting solutions. The company has set up 86 exclusive retail outlets 'Philips Light Lounges'.