[Link: news.cnet.com]

If this happened would this mean that they would discontinue selling products over here or just quit making them over here? I can't imagine that they would back out entirely from teh market...

Does Philips actually manufacture consumer goods in the U.S. I thought not. I read it as pulling out completely.

They do make television tubes over in Ohio, that's the only mfg facility I can come up with right now.

The article seems to imply the whole consumer electronics division.

That is disappointing news

Not good to hear. I wonder if that includes their owned lines such as Marantz. And, of course, we all wonder what will happen with the Pronto.

Deane

Yeah, it doesn't make me hold out much hope of being able to buy the color pronto in a couple years. Plus I have a Tivo by Philips and that would be on the block too. Ick. I like their stuff...

The article said that they would "If" the market did not improve. Hopefully the economy in general and the Philips market in particular will get better over the next three years. I have been a long time Philips fan and would hate to see them go away in the US.

So, let's all go out and buy Philips stuff!

Mike B

Philips biggest problem in the U.S. in brand recognition. They have too long been associated with the Magnivox toe tag and they do not push their brand enough, Norelco over Philishave etc, Sonicare over Philips etc. They need to get the PHILIPS name out there over everything else. These multiple names do not create brand loyalty. If the average owner of a Norelco razor knew that Philips made that razor they would be more inclined to by a Philips microwave, TV or another product.

Philips has some of the most inovative products and pricing avilable but they need to separate themselves from the discount electronics stores that they circulate in. Most people think Mr. Coffee or Braun(Gillette) for coffee machines not Philips, probably because they assume that it is a bad product because it is only carried in the discount chains of Kmart, Target and Walmart. Now do not get me wrong I love these stores but they are not always associated with quality.

This message was edited by Patrick Quairoli on 12/20/01 10:24.07.

Just to add to Patrick's thoughts, Philips' probem in the US is caused by lousy marketing and advertising. Just compare the ads for Marantz with those done by Denon. Denon's ads are much, much better. Marantz receivers are excellent mid-priced units, but they have no momentum. The current ads for Marantz receivers don't even mention power ratings. Whoever prepares these has no idea what the consumer is interested in.

Many Marantz products are excellent values, but some rocket scientist decided to price their flagship receiver $1000 over the price of a comparable Denon, Yamaha, or Onkyo. Now there's a way to grab market share. The dealers didn't even bother stocking that model.

I would certainly hate to see Philips leave the American market. I wish they'd wake up and instead of wringing their hands saying they're leaving in three years if things don't get better by themselves, they'd take a hard look at thier marketing and brand recognition and fix the problem. The product quality is fine, the market positioning is terrible. Someone needs to be replaced.

Deane

This message was edited by Deane Johnson on 12/20/01 12:48.06.

I agree with most of the comments above. While I would hate to see Philips leave the US market, I can't say that Philips has done themselves any favors.

Quality and customer support has always been something of an issue with this company. A case in point which we can all recognize is the Pronto. They make the absolute best product in it's class (mid-priced touchscreen remotes) -- little if any competition to this innovative product. However, the software (which is what makes the product great) has always been released buggy. Look at the Neo. PE 2.0 still has some buggs in it. The Pro's software was released without being able to program the outer buttons. Even though many (but not all) the problems were eventually fixed, it still gives the overall impression of poor initial quality.

As far as customer support -- the only software that is officially supported is ProEdit (maybe NEO). Even though the software was shipped with the remote Philips customer service at times refused to help customers who admitted to using the software. For a long time no repair for broken remotes was offered. If it was out of warantee -- buy another. Replacement batteries were not available for purchase (and may still not be for the Pro). Honoring warranties on the silver (European) TSU 1000's were at one point in question for US customers because they were being used in a country for which they were not intended. Even though the box said for world wide use.

Although you may be able to excuse or explain away each of these points individually, the net effect does nothing for their reputation. Although I would be sorry to see them leave the US market, I really think they are their own worst enemy.

Jim L

Dean: Marantz is independent. Until some time ago Philips was a majority owner, but they decreased their stake in it (when it happened a thread similar to this one was started asking what it meant for the RC5000 or RC5000i). So I don't think it will affect it.


Patrick: I agree, when I first started working with the Pronto I wanted to find out what else they made because I was impressed.

Bomberjim: no product is perfect. But why did you get a Pronto over the other touch displays, because even with its problems it is still the best. There are several others out there either a bit higher or lower cost (Denon Atkis, HK TC1000, HTM MX1000, RTI T2....)

I think the bigger question is will it be more organizational or actual. will we still be able to buy some Philips stuff in the store or Philips will disappear from the NA market.

Anthony,

If you reread my post you will notice that I never criticized the product. In fact I said it was the absolute best. Quality of their software and customer support is, as I stated, another matter entirely. If the product was as bad as the support -- then you would be correct, I wouldn't have gotten one.

The point is if they had great customer service and support maybe they wouldn't have to have the absolute best product on the market in order to get market share. I think this in addition to the other points made contributes to their problem.

Jim L

This message was edited by bomberjim on 12/20/01 18:45.43.

Interestingly, here in Australia, Philips is regarded as mid to slightly up market (similar to Sony). They are certainly not identified as being discount store products.

This message was edited by Peter Dewildt on 12/20/01 20:30.07.

I agree with Patrick.

Do you ever see a Sony product named anything other than..... well....... Sony???

I think rebadging of everything to the Philips name would be a must.