Philips Plans to Start Outsourcing Production

Philips is making some dramatic changes in order to try to remain more competitive within the HDTV market. Apparently, the company has been finding success with its HDTVs in the European and Asian markets, but has seen little success in North America. In fact, the company has been losing money with its HDTV division in North America.

In order to save money, the Dutch company has decided to stop directly developing HDTVs for its North American market. Rather, it plans to outsource the work for its HDTVs as well as its Magnavox models. More specifically, it will outsource the work to Funai, which is based in Japan and will take care of manufacturing the sets as well as marketing them.

Philips hopes that this change will help turn around its HDTV business. Despite the fact that the company offers televisions that can change their background lighting to fit with certain movies, a line of television called Ambilight HDTVs, the company has not been able to overcome the opposition it faces from less expensive brands in North America. Those television companies that sell to major retailers such as Best Buy, for example, have made it difficult for Philips to grab its share of the market.

[tags ]hdtv, philips[/hdtv]