Royal Philips (formerly Philips Electronics) is a major Dutch manufacturer of consumerelectronics, electronic components,medical imaging equipment, household appliances,lighting equipment, and computer and telecommunications equipment.

Founding and early growth

Philips & Company was founded in 1891 by Frederik Philips and his son Gerard, who had been an engineer with the Anglo-American Brush Electric Light Corporation Ltd. Gerard Philips continually experimented to improve the longevity of lightbulbs, at the same time optimizing production procedures. His younger brother Anton Philips later joined the firm, adding the commercial savvy that formed the basis for the company’s international expansion. The company remained driven by technology, however, often striving for high quality rather than low cost. In later years the company was often slow to bring its innovative technologies to market.

The Philips sons established an autocratic management style, with a tradition of taking care of their workers from the cradle to the grave. Philips built housing, schools, and hospitals and, from 1900 onward, provided free medical aid. Members of the Philips family led the company until 1977 and maintained great influence well into the 1980s.

Early to mid-20th century: Navigating wartime and shifting to radio

Philips benefited from theNetherlands’ neutrality inWorld War I by capturing many new markets. In 1924 Philips, together with the American manufacturerGeneral Electric Company and Osram GmbH (now a wholly owned subsidiary of German manufacturerSiemens AG), formed the Phoebus cartel in order to divide up the lightbulb market worldwide and to set the standard life of a lightbulb at 1,000 hours. Critics claimed that the cartel stifled innovation and competition in lighting for several decades. By 1919 Philips had expanded into the production of radio tubes. In 1927 it introduced a simple affordableradio, and by 1933 it was the world’s largest radio manufacturer.

In the 1930s Philips shifted much of its production outside the Netherlands to avoid the import controls that many countries established during theGreat Depression. Just before the outbreak ofWorld War II, Philips moved its headquarters toCuraçao, keeping the company out of German control. Nevertheless, Philips’s role in the war became the subject of some controversy.

The postwar years: Expansion in the home consumer and media markets

After 1945 Philips expanded its product range. In 1947 the company began marketing its rotating blade electricrazor in the U.S. under thebrand name Norelco. Over the next few decades, the company would add several hair removal products, as well as electric toothbrushes and other oral care products, to its personal care lineup.

In 1951 the company launched the Philips record label, acquiredMercury Records in 1960, and continued to invest in record labels such asDeutsche Grammophon,Decca, andMotown through its PolyGram subsidiary (sold in 1998). Philips was much less successful in entering the computer business. By the time the company released its P-1000 mainframe system in the mid-1960s, theIBM 360 was well established as the market standard. The company did better with a range of minicomputers in the 1970s but missed out on thepersonal computer revolution. In 1986 Philips launched a personal computer with a proprietaryoperating system, years after other manufacturers had acceptedMicrosoft Corporation’s MS-DOS as the market standard. In 1992 Philips exited the computer hardware business, though it remained an important supplier of components to theindustry.

In 1963 Philips launched a small battery-powered audiotape recorder that used acassette instead of a loose spool. Philips let other manufacturers reproduce the technology royalty-free, quickly establishing cassette tapes as a standard worldwide. Philips fared less well with its video technology. Although it demonstrated the world’s firstvideocassette recorder (VCR) in 1971, the company was slower to market than the Japanese, who launched Betamax in 1975 and VHS in 1976. Philips did not start production of VHS players until 1984.

Meanwhile, Philips had developed a new technology to play back video, using a laser to read information from a disc. Introduced in 1978, LaserDisc technology never caught on, but it did lead to another major success: thecompact disc (CD). A key agreement withSony Corporation in 1979 and a series of deals with music companies ensured the format’s success.

In a series of acquisitions in the 1970s, Philips established a position in the American consumer electronics market, starting with the purchase of television maker Magnavox in 1974. However, Philips fared poorly in competition with Japanese consumer electronics. In 1991 Philips launched CD-I, a multimedia player aimed at the living room. More expensive thanelectronic game consoles and lacking the capabilities of personal computers, the CD-I player never caught on. In 1992 the digital compact cassette was introduced as a digital successor to the audio cassette. It faced competition from Sony’s MiniDisc, but neither format lived up to commercial expectations.

Late 20th and early 21st century: Shift to medical devices

Philips’ experience in the lighting and electronics businesses gave it an advantage when, in the 1980s and 1990s, the company decided to expand into medical devices, beginning with the acquisition of Gould, Inc.’s X-ray and diagnostic imaging business. The company would acquire several more medical device business units, including:

• Agilent Technologies’ Healthcare Solutions (2001), which included patient monitoring and cardiac care technology.
• Respironics, a $5 billion acquisition in 2008 that solidified its position as a leader in ventilators, CPAP machines (for those suffering fromsleep apnea), and oxygen concentrators.
• Volcano Corp., a $12 billion acquisition that, when it closed in early 2015, made Philips a leader incardiovascular imaging.

By this time, Philips had also become a leading producer of portabledefibrillation units,ultrasound systems, andcomputed tomography (CT) scanners. Philips hasmanufacturing and marketing subsidiaries throughout the world. In 2013, the company dropped “electronics” from its name to become Royal Philips NV, in a nod to its growth in the medical field.

With medical devices, oral and hair care, and small appliances now comprising the majority of Philips’ earnings, the company decided it was time to streamline its product lineup, starting with its consumer electronics business. By 2008, Philips had stopped manufacturing TVs, stereos, and other consumer electronics, but rather licensed its Philips and Magnavox names to Japanese manufacturerFunai. After an unsuccessful attempt to sell the division to Funai, in April 2014 Philips instead sold its consumer electronics division (then called WOOX Innovations) to Singapore-basedGibson Brands (formerly Gibson Guitar).

In 2016, Philips spun its longest-running product line—Philips Lighting—into a separate company, now calledSignify (PHPPY). Then, in 2021, Philips sold its domestic appliance business to Hillhouse Capital, aprivate equity firm, for $4.4 billion. The Philips name still appears on electronics, small appliance, and lighting products through licensing agreements, but as of 2024, medical, home health, and hair and oral care make up the core of Philips’ revenue.