By Patrick Avenell
Philips TVs are back on sale in Australia; and from an unlikely source – the Kogan online store. This is the first time a third party TV brand has been sold by the rogue online retailer.
Philips’ Australian subsidiary withdrew from the consumer TV market on 31 December 2008 after the brand had failed to meet profitability goals. This inability was due largely to the devastating price erosion that visited the flat panel category during the 2000s.
In the five years since abandoning the local consumer TV market, Philips has redoubled its commercial TV business and remains an active player in the hospitality market. Globally, the Dutch company TP Vision has been awarded the exclusive licence to distribute Philips TVs in most markets, with China the notable exception.
Kogan is currently selling three Philips TVs, in 22-, 26- and 32-inch models. All three are LED LCD panels and come with 12-month warranty. The two smaller models are only HD, and sell for $199 and $299, while the largest model is Full HD and is listed at $349.
In an email to Appliance Retailer, Kogan founder Ruslan Kogan said he planned on introducing more TV panels to his site from name brands.
“Philips TVs are the first third party brand we are selling in the TV category,” Kogan said. “For many years we have been trying to source TVs from the other major brands but they are too scared to sell to the online channel as it would piss off their major bricks and mortar retailers.
“We’re not fazed by this and we will keep persevering.”
Although neither Ruslan Kogan nor his PR representives would confirm if these panels were sourced from TP Vision directly, Kogan did offer this clue:
“It’s clear that Philips has a different view on the industry [to other major brands] and it’s only inevitable that others will follow soon.”
A screen grab from Kogan.com showing the Philips range.
Kogan.com has previously caused ructions in the camera, tablet and smartphone categories by selling name-brand products at very competitive prices, with many units sourced through parallel channels rather than from local subsidiaries.
“Kogan’s goal is to make ALL technology more affordable [Kogan’s caps],” Kogan said. “For several years, we have been selling products from the world’s biggest brands across multiple categories. These brands include Apple, Samung, Kogan, Sony, Canon, Nikon, and more.”