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Economy

After Nokia, Will Dutch Giant Philips Be Europe's Next Electronics Brand To Implode?

Europe’s consumer electronics industry is already reeling from the recent disastrous showing of Nokia. Now Philips has announced it would stop making televisions, another sign that the historic brand is struggling to compete.

Philips light sign in Singapore (chuwasg)
Philips light sign in Singapore (chuwasg)

Europe's consumer electronics industry is growing dimmer by the day. First there was Finnish communications giant Nokia, whose profits tumbled 31% between April and June. Now, the Netherlands' Philips appears to be in serious trouble as well, according to its latest financial results.

The Dutch company announced that its sales will probably be lower than expected in two out of its three primary areas, lightning and consumer electronics. The downturn is mostly due to weak demand in Europe and the United States.

Philips' financial difficulties have been caused by the firm's intrinsic performance, but above all by weak consumption. There is no prospect of a very rosy picture for the European consumer goods industry. European people buy fewer electric razors and toothbrushes, and municipalities no longer have money to modernize theirs lightning systems.

What makes things worse is that 10 years ago, Philips decided to pull out from non-core sectors to focus on its three key fields of expertise. The company stopped, for example, manufacturing electronic components and mobile phones. Instead it stuck with electric razors, lightning and health care, sectors that are supposedly immune to recession.

Now Philips has stopped making televisions as well – its most dramatic demonstration to date that it is committed to its policy of refocusing. The company's approach over the past decade was hailed as a model for other electronics conglomerates to emulate. Not everyone did, however. Siemens, a German engineering conglomerate, continues to focus on equipment products.

What is happening to Philips lightning is particularly worrying because it is a field that is undergoing an electronic revolution with the introduction of LEDs (Light-Emitting Diodes). The new technology was supposed to make the industry expand. But competition from Asia competition and the slow progress of adopting new technologies is hindering its momentum.

The European industry, which was already taken aback by Nokia's incredible fall, did not need this extra headache. Philips has not made the same strategic mistakes as Nokia. It has not thrown itself at the feet of an American company in order to save itself from wreckage. Nonetheless, some observers are wondering whether Philips is going to meet with the same fate as Nokia. The next few months could prove to be critical for the company's future.

Read the original article in French.

Photo - chuwasg

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Geopolitics

Why The World Still Needs U.S. Leadership — With An Assist From China

Twenty years of costly interventions and China's economic ascent have robbed the United States of its global supremacy. It is time for the two biggest powers to work together, to help the world.

Photograph of Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden walking side by side in the Filoli Estate in the U.S. state of California​

Nov. 15, 2023: Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden take a walk after their talks in the Filoli Estate in the U.S. state of California

Xinhua/ZUMA
María Ángela Holguín*

-Analysis-

BOGOTÁ — The United States is facing a complex moment in its history, as it loses its privileged place in the world. Since the Second World War, it has been the world's preeminent power in economic and political terms, helping rebuild Europe after the war and through its growing economy, aiding the development of a significant part of the world.

For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here.

Its model of democracy, long considered exemplary around the world, has gone through a rough patch, thanks to excessive polarization and discord. This has cost it a good deal of its leadership, unity and authority.

How much authority does it have to chide certain countries on democracy, as it does, after such outlandish incidents as the assault on Congress in January 2021? The fights we have seen over electing a new speaker of the House of Representatives or backing the administration's foreign policy are simply incredible.

In Ukraine's case, President Biden failed to win support for the aid package for which he was hoping, even if there is a general understanding that if Russia wins this war, Europe's stability would be at risk. It would mean the victory of a longstanding enemy.

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