Philips backs away from consumer electronics in America, says it's still committed elsewhere

Philips continues to distance itself from the consumer electronics market in the US.

The European giant has confirmed that its Philips and Magnavox brand names will be licensed to Funai, for use on DVD players and recorders, Blu-ray decks and home cinema systems. Funai already distributes Philips branded TVs in the US and Canada, following an agreement struck in 2008.

The new arrangement comes into effect January 1 2009 and will initially run for three years.

Philips itself will concentrate on portable electronics, such as MP3 players and portable DVD players.

It denies that it is attempting to get out of the increasingly competitive CE business, and has released a statement saying: ‘This intended agreement presents a good solution for Philips to maintain its strong brand presence in the US video multimedia market. Philips will continue to develop, source and market its own products in these categories in other markets around the world.’