By James Wells

SYDNEY: Philips Electronics announced today in a conference call with Current.com.au that it will leave the television market in Australia and New Zealand effective 31 December 2008.

Philips Consumer Lifestyle CEO Harry Van Dyk told Current.com.au he was informed of the decision late last week “after working on this for some time” and staff were informed at 10.00am this morning.

Philips Consumer Lifestyle general manager, Matt Moran, told Current.com.au said the decision was made based on a global direction.

“The TV market is a very tough market from a global perspective. Our CEO has been open to the market and shareholders to address profitability and the new management which has been put in place

“Given the complexity of the market and the dedicated investment required along with the aggressive market dynamics, the decision has been made to discontinue the TV category in Australia and New Zealand,” Moran said.

Van Dyk paid tribute to Philips’ distribution partners – the Harvey Norman/Derni group, Good Guys, Bing Lee, Myer and Retravision Western who have supported the brand over the years, particularly when the decision was made to substantially reduce distribution partners several years ago.

“If it wasn’t for that decision we may not have got to this stage and may have been confronted with an earlier decision, particularly with current market dynamics,” Van Dyk said.

“These distribution partners have been and continue to be, as we have witnessed today, great supporters of our brand. We are committed to find ways to continue the relationship across those categories we bring to market.

“We’re not going away, we’re just changing the basis of how we connect.”