Philips Australia
Philips Lamps (Australasia) Ltd. (1926-1943)
Philips Electrical Industries Pty Ltd. (1943-     )
Cnr Clarence and Margaret Streets, Sydney, NSW (1926)

Philips Electronics Australia Limited.
48-56 Derby Street, Kingswood, NSW

Philips Australia was the local subsidiary of Dutch Philips N.V.. Prior to 1930 Philips imported radios, local manufacture commenced in 1931.

Aside from their Philips branded products, the company also made radios for / owned the Briton, Mullard and Fleetwood brand names. They also manufactured valves, television picture tubes and transistors, and for a short ime, ICs.

Philips grew to become one of Australia’s largest manufacturing companies during the 1960s and 1970s, employing 13,000 people in 1970.

Associate Professor Pierre van der Eng from the Research School of Management, ANU Canberra has kindly made his Working Papers on a very detailed history of Philips in Australia during the 20^th Century available.

Discussion Paper No. 2016-04: European Integration & Australian Manufacturing Industry, The Case of Philips Electronics, 1960s-1970s.

Discussion Paper No. 2017-06: Dealing with Liability of Foreignness: The Case of Philips in Australia, 1945-1980.

Discussion Paper No. 2016-07: Managing Political Imperatives: Strategic Responses of Philips in Australia, 1939 – 1945.

Philips established its own sales office in Australia in 1925, which a year later became the fully owned subsidiary Philips Lamps (Australasia) Ltd. [1]
The company imported Philips products from The Netherlands, including lamps for household and industrial use, radio valves, radio sets, audio transformers, speakers, battery chargers and X-ray tubes. It distributed these products to local agents through its state-based distribution network.

In the 1930s, the Australian government increased import tariffs, which made it commercially viable for Philips Australia to diversify into manufacturing through investments in factories producing incandescent lamps in Newcastle (1930), and radio sets and valves in Sydney (1933 and 1936, respectively). With WW2 looming, the company diversified into producing radio communication equipment, loudspeakers and associated sound systems, as well as a growing range of components.[2]

In February 1943 the Directors considered that the former name inadequately described the scope of the company's interests, and the name was changed to Philips Electrical Industries Pty Ltd. [3]

Production and Sales of Valves by Philips Australia, 1937-1945 (in thousands)

From Discussion Paper No. 2016-07

In March 1946 the company closed three factories in NSW and moved to a former munitions factory at Hendon SA, however the head office and showroom remained in Sydney. [4][5]

Philips products were known in Australia for their high quality and relatively high price. Consequently, their market share was generally modest. Instead, the company’s strategy focused on the production of semi-manufactures; initially valves, but later a wide range of components that it sold profitably to the large number of radio and, after 1956, television set makers in Australia. The Hendon plant produced valves, picture tubes, coils, tuners, ferrites, aerials, electric motors, fans, condensers, metal and plastic mouldings, radio and television cabinets, and parts (such as chassis mountings, washers, screws, nuts, and bolts).

In 1958 they set up a subsidiary, Telecommunications Co. of Australia Pty. Ltd. (TCA) to design and manufacture Telecommunication Equipment. TCA was a major supplier to both Commonwealth and State Government Departments.

In 1959 it also started production of semiconductors such as transistors and diodes. Philips Australia dominated the local market for valves and other componentry for radio and television sets, which was the company’s most profitable business in the 1950s. For example, it produced over 7 million valves per year in 1959/60, capturing 65 to 70% of the Australian market. [2]

The Hendon plant also produced final consumer products such as radio sets, car and portable radios, radio-gramophones, shavers, record players and a variety of TV sets. And it produced customised industrial, scientific, and defence-related equipment, particularly communication equipment and television broadcasting equipment. Many other products were imported from sister companies in other countries. But for radio and television sets, Philips Australia made around 95% of the value of those receivers entirely in Australia in the early-1960s.

The main expansion of the company took the form of the acquisition in 1970 of Electronic Industries Ltd (EIL) in Melbourne, which was a large and diversified industrial conglomerate. Also known as the Astor group, it produced electronic products such as radios; television sets; whitegoods, including washing machines, refrigerators, freezers and laundry dryers; cassette players; clock radios; and records. By the 1960s EIL was larger than Philips Australia and much more diversified, with a series of non-core subsidiary companies, including electrical retailers, and producers of furniture, mattresses, vending machines, bicycles, machine tools, etc.

Philips Australia acquired EIL for two reasons. Firstly, Pye of Cambridge Ltd in the UK had a controlling interest in EIL since 1959. When Pye ran into financial difficulties it was taken over by Philips in The Netherlands in 1967, which gave Philips an indirect stake in EIL. Secondly, under an 8-year contract signed in 1967, EIL was a major buyer of componentry from Philips Australia, particularly television picture tubes. Philips Australia could not afford to forego EIL’s unresolved payment obligations and EIL’s future purchases by driving its major customer into receivership. When EIL suffered significant losses in 1969, parent company Philips decided that Philips Australia had to absorb EIL in 1970.

Restructuring of Philips Australia during the 1970s and-early 1980s was not very successful in terms of the company’s performance. It sustained significant losses in 1982-83 and 1985-86, mainly in consumer products, despite further closures of major manufacturing subsidiary companies, including Kriesler and Pye in 1983. The losses reduced the company’s equity, until it hit rock bottom in 1986, when Philips NL purchased the 25% of shares in Philips Australia that remained in public hands and delisted the company. [6]

In other words, by the mid-1980s the firm was no longer able to call for a role in the regional architecture of Philips in the Asia-Pacific. While Philips Australia continued production operations that focused on specialised high value-added products in telecommunications and defence, most other production facilities were sold off or closed by the late-1980s, facilitating the transformation of the company into a sales company in the 1990s. [2]

As of 2021, Philips Electronics Australia Limited is a subsidiary of Koninklijke Philips NV that derives its revenue from the importation, sale, marketing and servicing of medical equipment and electrical goods. The company employs approximately 540 employees, operates throughout Australia, and is administered by its head office in North Ryde, NSW.

[1] Dun's Gazette Dec 20, 1926, Page 479.
[2] Discussion Paper No. 2016-04: 
[3] The Sun (NSW) Feb 4, 1943, Page 7.
[4] Armidale Express & New England General Advert (NSW) Feb 27, 1946, Page 6.
[5] Argus (VIC) Mar 13, 1946, Page 16.
[6] Philips News Mar 24,1986.