Philips Lamps (N.Z.), Ltd.
Hope Gibbons Building, Courtenay Place, Wellington (1927-          )

Philips Electrical Industries of New Zealand Ltd.
80 Colombo Street, Christchurch (           -1958)
Nae Nae, Lower Hutt (1958-      )

Philips in New Zealand began in 1927 with Philips Lamps (N.Z.) Ltd. opening a branch in Wellington importing & distributing lamps and valves. Battery eliminators and chargers soon followed along with radio parts.

From 1930 Philips imported radios from England and Holland for the NZ market.  Between 1934 and 1936/7 they supplemented their line-up with local sets made for them by Radio Corporation of New Zealand and others imported from Australia.

In 1936 a small manufacturing plant was set up in Wellington and Philips began to produce their own radios. This was followed by a larger factory at Nae Nae, Lower Hutt in 1958 designed for TV production.

Production ceased in 1988 due to reduced import tariffs.

Turnbull & Jones Ltd. imported and distributed Philips lamps, possibly from 1905, however, 1912 is known. [1] Radio valves followed by 1924. [2]

Lawrence & Hanson Electrical Co. Ltd. also imported and distributed Philips lamps from 1912 and valves from 1924.
Both companies held the distribution rights for Philips’s products until June 30, 1931, and from July 1 only Turnbull & Jones held the rights until the early 1940s.

Philips Lamps (N.Z.), Ltd. was registered in May 1927 with 10,000 shares of £1 each with subscribers, Philips Lamps (Australasia), T. S. Weston & S. J. Castle. [3]

The first radio model to be imported by Philips was the Model 2510 in May 1930. In 1934 the first Philips New Zealand models emerged, produced under licence by Radio Corp. NZ Ltd. [4]

On 23rd March 1936, Philips opened the doors of the small factory in Blair Street, Wellington.

The first model to go on the line was the Model 636P all-wave A.C. receiver.

For the next three years, the company continued to develop the production of receivers. In 1938 the New Zealand Government found it necessary for economic reasons to impose a ban on the importation of radio and from that year the New Zealand Philips factory has manufactured all Philips receivers sold in New Zealand. This ban also prevented the importation of Mullard brand radios. The sole distributing agents for Mullard were the C. & A. Odlin Timber & Hardware Co. Ltd., and it was mutually agreed that the Philips factory would also build the complete requirements of receivers to be marketed under the Mullard brand.

In May 1946 the company changed its name to Philips Electrical Industries of New Zealand Ltd. [5]

After the war, the industry had to absorb large quantities of valves and components left over from the war effort. These mostly came from the US and radios built at this time used US components. By 1948 due to the shortage of US dollars importers turned to European valves and components. This necessitated a comprehensive technical service by trained engineers and a division between merchandising services and technical information services for manufacturers.

In April 1954 a separation of activities was decided upon with the professional components supply organisation having its own staff, and own office accommodation at the Majestic Theatre building, 102 Willis Street, Wellington, and the company set up Electronic Development and Applications Co. Ltd. (EDAC) as a subsidiary. An essential function of EDAC. was to act as central supply centre for electronic tubes, transistors, semiconductors, and components to set makers and government departments. Supplies came from Philips, Eindhoven; Mullard, London; N. V. Pope, The Hague; Amperex, U.S.A.; and Philips, Australia. EDAC continued until approximately 1979. [4]

With the post-war expansion, and the impending introduction of Television a new factory was required, and 6 acres of land was acquired and a purposely built factory, Philips Electronic Centre, was constructed at Nae Nae Lower Hutt and opened in April 1958.[6]

In its early days, the Nae Nae factory was producing small domestic items such as the famous Philishave electric razors, radios, radiograms, tape recorders, kitchen appliances, and later black & white TV receivers.

In the early 1970s they manufactured the Model K9 colour TV.

In 1980 Philips took over Pye (N.Z.) Ltd.

The last television to come off the production line at the Philips Electronic Centre was on 11 June 1988.

The closure of the factory was announced in February 1988 after reduced import tariffs meant that colour television sets manufactured in New Zealand were no longer competitive.

As of 2022, Philips Electronics New Zealand is a subsidiary of Koninklijke Philips NV Philips continues to supply the New Zealand market with models imported from the company's overseas factories

[1] Dominion 24 Dec 1912, Page 24.
[2] New Zealand Herald 31 Oct 1924, Page 3.
[3] Evening Post 19 May 1927, Page 13.
[4] Philips in New Zealand (1961) by H.A. Leighton Ford.
[5] Otago Daily Times 28 May 1946, Page 1.
[6] Press 23 Feb 1956, Page 6.