Tuesday, May 27, 2014: Philips could not stay away from the charm of Indian mobile handset market for long and has announced a re-entry in the market. The company has send out invites for the launch of mobile phones in India at an event scheduled on 28 May in New Delhi. The new range of mobile phones from Philips includes both smartphones and feature phones.
According to an ET report, a company spokesperson said that Philips brand of feature phones and smartphones will be launched in India by Sang Fei Consumer Communications Co. Sang Fei, a joint venture between Royal Dutch Philips Electronics and Shenzhen SED Industry Co, is launching these devices after about seven years after China Electronics Corporation (CEC), the parent group of Sang Fei, acquired the global mobile phone business of Philips. The acquisition happened in February 2007.
According to the company’s website, Sang Fei has come up with a new series of Philips mobile phones. The India business of these phones, will be headed by SS Bassi, Sang Fei’s head of SAARC operations, who has worked with Lenovo India and Reliance Communications in the past.
It is worth mentioning here that Philips previously had a range for feature phones in India, till the time of acquisition. The company slowly disappeared and the space was filled by the homegrown manufacturers. Now, when Philips is entering the market, it will not only face competition from the Samsungs and the Motorolas of the world, but also the homegrown manufacturers, who have a large share in the pie.
