Philips the world leader in lighting came up with a new title. The world leader in lighting announced its intention to change its name from Philips Lighting to Signify. Earlier this year, CEO Eric Rondolat told the press. ‘We intend to announce our new corporate name in the first half of 2018,’ ‘Needless to say, we’ll continue to use the Philips brand for our product as we have a brand licence agreement for the coming decade.’
The name change came roughly after two years of the event when former parent Royal Philips sold off Philips Lighting in a stock market offering. The speculation about name change began three months ago.
The choice of their new company name originates from the fact that light becomes an intelligent language, which connects and conveys meaning. The company will continue to use the Philips brand, the most trusted lighting brand in the world, under the existing licensing agreement with Royal Philips.
“We’re excited to announce our new company name as another step in our transformation journey,” said Eric Rondolat, CEO of Philips Lighting. “Our new company name is a clear expression of our strategic vision and a fabulous opportunity to introduce a new corporate look and feel that is uniquely our own and will serve to further unite our 32,000 employees. At the same time, we remain proud to continue to use the Philips brand on our products.”
Philips Lighting’s roots date back more than 125 years to the business founded by Frederik and Gerard Philips in 1891 in the Dutch town of Eindhoven. Throughout its history, the company has been at the forefront of many of the lighting industry’s major advancements. Today, it leads the industry worldwide in conventional, LED and connected lighting, with the largest connected lights network in the world.
The new company name satisfies the company’s contractual requirements under the Company Name License Agreement with Royal Philips, which requires that it changes less than 18 months after Royal Philips no longer has a controlling interest.
In view of the renaming of the company, a proposal to amend the articles of association of Philips Lighting N.V. will be submitted to the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to be held on May 15. The Philips Lighting stock exchange ticker will remain LIGHT.
