Philips Lighting bets big on connected lighting solutions

Philips Lighting is betting big on connected lighting solutions -- required for smart homes and smart cities -- that are being developed by the government.
The company is eyeing the lighting projects for these cities and has successfully bid for two of them.
Besides, the company is sensing good opportunity in the light-emitting diode (LED) based lights segment and is working with stakeholders.
"Lighting is the first and foremost application of a smart city. Out of the smart cities in India, a fair number of them have got in engagement with people like us for lighting," Philips Lighting CMO & Head of Strategy Bill Bien told PTI.

India is one of the important markets for Philips Lighting and the company expects more avenues and opportunities in future as the economy grows, he added.
"India is a very important market for us. Out of the growth markets, India and Indonesia are the big markets for us," Bien said.

The company presently exports to over 24 countries from India, and is also looking at India to be a major centre to roll out new innovative products.
"As the Indian economy grows, I would hope our business continues to grow. We see solar business becoming a hub for global business," he added.

Presently, LED light constitutes over 60 per cent of the total light sales of Philips Lighting India, which is more than the global average of around 55 per cent for the company.
"India is little more than the global curve in this," Philips Lighting CMO, South Asia, Rothin Bhattacharyya said, adding that "this trend would continue."
Philips Lighting, which won a major contract to supply five crore LED bulbs by Energy Efficiency Services Ltd under the government's Ujala scheme, has increased its production capacity six times in the last one year.
"Our capacity in just one year has gone up by more than six times. We are watching capacities very carefully," Bhattacharyya said.

However, he declined to share the established capacity of Philips Lighting, which is presently operating two units at Vadodara in Gujarat and Mohali in Punjab.
"We would keep the trend of dominantly supplying from India. We would move with the market and make the capacity available," he said, adding that the company has a network of 24 contract manufacturers.
The company designs and manufactures in India more than 90 per cent of what it sells in the country, Bhattacharyya said.
In April 2016, Philips Lighting India was established as a separate company and currently has a workforce of about 3,000.