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Lighting design solutions provider Philips is looking at rapid expansion of its retail footprint in the South.
The company, which has established around 50 light lounges in the South plans to add 30 more retail outlets before the close of this year.
It has a network of 120 light lounges across the country.
Philips Lighting's second Light Lounge in Coimbatore and the 19th in Tamil Nadu was inaugurated here this morning by the city Mayor P Rajkumar and D Nandakumar, President, Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Located on the NSR Road, this new light lounge is spread across an area of 813 sq feet of retail space.
Speaking to reporters, Kiran Koteswara Thotapalli, Head – South, Home Decorative Lighting, Philips Lighting India said that the company is focused on expanding its retail foothold in TN, a key market for the company. He was however reluctant to share details about Philips Lighting's market share.
“We are in talks with project promoters (property developers) to promote our LED panels, bulbs and tubes and the response from the home segment has been astounding. Trained partners at the light lounges help consumers make lighting purchase decisions more easy. We do mock-ups, computer simulated lighting of the rooms,” he added.
The company has rolled out close to 200 to 300 new light fittings (the complete range) in the last 12 months with price ranging upwards of Rs 575 to a maximum of Rs 60000. “And in the decorative lighting space, price, we realised, is not the only criteria, but aesthetic appeal,” he told Business Line in the sidelines of the meeting.
“While there is growing awareness about LED lighting, the market for conventional lights is continuing to grow,” Thotapalli said.
To a query on production of conventional lights he said “we have separate production lines for the LED and conventional in 40:60 ratio. Though there is growing awareness for LED lighting, the product cost continues to be a deterrent and users therefore prefer a mix of the conventional lights and the LED.
He conceded that the market for decorative lighting is flooded with cheap imports adding “we differentiate through innovation in design, energy efficiency and application expertise.”
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