Philips to double its presence in Sri Lanka
Philips Lanka Solutions Pvt Limited, a subsidiary of The Netherlands based Royal Philips which announced an expansion of its business in Sri Lanka, says it would double its presence ‘soon’.
“We have some 500 outlets in Sri Lanka which we’re going to ‘quickly’ double,” Sanjay Bapna, CEO – Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Philips Indian Subcontinent told the Business Times. Mr. Bapna, who is responsible for managing and expanding the Philips businesses in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka markets, said that Philips products are growing close to three times the market’s growth rate in related products.
He added that ‘wet grinding’ is purely a ‘subcontinent phenomenon’ and that Philips will be launching a range of grinders in tandem with this concept. “We go into minute details and the underlying theme is health, wellbeing and efficiency – for an example Sri Lankans are fond (as well as Indians) of fried food. We came up with a device that helps to reduce 80 per cent of the oil when frying – the air flyer, which is a Philips discovery,” Mr. Bapna explained.
Philips has been present in Sri Lanka since June 2013 and has primarily focused on its healthcare business which offers health solutions focused on diagnosis, treatment, recovery and homecare for patients. Its healthcare portfolio includes diagnostic imaging products like CT and MRI, obstructive sleep apnea management and home respiratory care products; as well as cardiology and patient monitoring solutions. Now the company also wants to make a marked presence through the personal care and kitchen appliance ranges among others, Mr. Bapna said. “At Philips we intend to serve our consumers across the health continuum starting from healthy living and prevention of diseases to the right diagnosis, treatment, recovery and home care. So far we were offering solutions for a part of this continuum with the help of our professional health care portfolio. With the introduction of new products focused on consumer health, we will now make sure that people are able to lead a good life, by monitoring and managing their health, be it the air they breathe, the food they eat or their personal hygiene,” Mr. Bapna, added.
The Philips portfolio will include kitchen appliances, grooming, coffee, baby care products and air purifiers.