Philips eyes small towns to expand home decor lighting biz

Dutch consumer electronics firm Philips today said it plans to enhance its home decorative business in India by expanding into smaller cities and developing local market specific products at price points suitable to the consumers.

The company said India is one of the fastest growing markets and will continue to roll out more concepts, apart from enhancing its retail presence by doubling the number of exclusive shops to 650 by the end of the year.

"Two-and-half years ago we started with metros, we went to the mini metros and now we are going to the Tier I towns...so we are really going down," Philips Lighting India Head Nirupam Sahay told PTI.

In order to tap the home decorative space in India, he said the company plans to introduce products at different price points and strengthening its retail presence.

"We find that the price points that we have is something that is also relevant to the Tier II towns...We will continue to look at different price points for different products," he said.

At present, Philips sells different products in the home decorative light space, including ambiance accessories like wall lights, chandeliers and flower vase starting from Rs 800.

Sahay said the company has been doing a lot of consumer research to develop products suitable for the Indian market.

"We use consumer insights very actively to develop product portfolio which are relevant for Indian consumers in terms of designs and what Indian consumers look for in consumer luminaries," he said.

Commenting on the potential of the Indian market, Philips Lighting General Manager (Consumer Luminaries) Philip Doorduijn said: "People have become much more aware of lighting here...there is opportunity as the market here is becoming more mature and more aware."

People also like to talk about light and interiors... There is a clear opportunity in India because India is growing, he added.