Chronicling The Spectacular Collapse Of A Once-Revered Electronics Brand

When a company that has been around since the 1800s and popularized many of the 20th century’s most coveted consumer electronics fades into obscurity, there are some lessons we all can learn.

The Philips legacy

For most of human history, if you wanted to hear music you’d have to listen to the performers in person. In the last century or so, that has changed with the introduction of various forms of media storage — and you have Philips to thank.

Now, Europe’s last remaining major electronics brand is withering away as its stock value plummets almost as fast as its relevance. So what happened? A few former employees and insiders shed some light on the situation.

Losing sight of the vision

Whereas Philips was long known for its pivotal role in developing high-tech tools like the light bulb, radio, compact disc, DVD, and semiconductor, it has ceded ground to other companies in recent years.

Not too long ago, it was the world’s third-largest electronics company — but in 2010, CEO Elwin de Valk announced that it was “no longer a high-tech company.”

The same company that once invited Albert Einstein to speak to its engineers had all but forsaken investments in research and development by the time the 20th century came to an end.

Ignoring new ideas

Even after helping usher in the digital age during the 1980s, it seemed to remain stubbornly stuck in the past as the world continued to advance. One former employee recalled someone suggesting the notion of creating a portable MP3 player before other companies had entered the segment — but he “was laughed out of the room, mostly because he didn’t have a Ph.D.

The same individual noted that the company provided so-called “idea boxes” throughout the company, but they never seemed to get emptied.

Chris Agee March 14th, 2023

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