'Philips to merge Preethi biz in future'
Philips India will merge its subsidiary Preethi with it sometime in future, a company official said. He, however, said the company will continue with the regional brand in the south Indian markets.
September 05, 2012 / 15:23 IST
Philips India will merge its subsidiary Preethi with it sometime in future, a company official said. He, however, said the company will continue with the regional brand in the south Indian markets.
"We will continue with the subsidiary for sometime but in future we will merge," Philips Electronics India Ltd Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Rajeev Chopra said here.Preethi was acquired by Philips in April 2011 from Maya Appliances Private Ltd and is amongst the market leaders in the four southern states.Philips India is now working on more aggressive strategy to take the Preethi brand in the international market, targeting mostly south Indian diaspora, he said."Before the acquisition, Preethi was only in the Middle East but we have already expanded into Singapore. We are planning for more markets but we will not be able to share more on this now," Chopra said.Philips will introduce products from Preethi range under Philips brand in markets other than south India, the company said, adding it has been done in the case of induction cooktops.Chopra said Philips India is open to new acquisitions in India but none is being actively considered at this point of time. Chopra said the company will add more home healthcare products in the next two-three weeks with an aim to expand and strengthen the healthcare segment that accounts more than 50 per cent of its total revenue."We are known for diagnostics equipment in healthcare. Now we are venturing into healthcare therapies also," he said. There are about 150 sleep therapy labs in hospitals and medical specialists locations across the country assisted by Philips.However, the home healthcare products will only be sold under medical supervision as these are not categorised as OTC products.Philips will also introduce virtual ICU in a month that will enable specialist doctors to carryout diagnosis of a patient from any location, he added. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
