Philips bows out of consumer electronics market

Philips Electronics is withdrawing from the consumer electronics market saying that it was "time" to move on and concentrate on its more profitable business areas.

The Dutch company, which invented the audio cassette and brought us the first videocassette player, has been losing ground to companies such as Samsung and Apple. Frans van Houten, Philips's chief executive said: "Our consumer lifestyle business was margin dilutive to the group, so it was time to decide to move away from consumer electronics. Since we have online entertainment, people do not buy Blu-ray and DVD players anymore."

Read more: Media streaming | Entertainment news

Philips was once one of the foremost players in the consumer electronics ring. It was the biggest suppliers of radios in the 1930s, the inventor of the audio cassette in the 1960s, created the first videocassette player in the 1970s and released the compact disc in the 1980s.

The move out of the consumer electronics market is not unexpected. The company set up a joint venture with TPV last year, in which the Hong Kong based business now owns 70 per cent of Philips TV business.

At the end of January it sold its audio, video, accessories and multimedia business to Japanese company Funai Electric Co. Philips said it will still continue to manufacture consumer appliances such as electric toothbrushes, toasters and coffee makers as well as its thriving health care divisions