Philips Consumer Electronics president Larry Blanford said at the company’s line preview here that it has expanded Philips brand distribution into a broader class of specialty electronics accounts.
Explaining the turnaround, Blanford said Philips added top personnel to its sales force at a time when competitors are cutting workers. This has landed or expanded such key accounts as The Good Guys, Fry’s, and Magnolia Hi-Fi on the West Coast; Nebraska Furniture Mart, Plass Appliance, Abt, and Ultimate Electronics in the Midwest; and P.C. Richard, BrandsMart and Tweeter in the East. (See TWICE, June 28, 2002, p. 1 for more details.)
In addition, he said, Philips is committed to improvments to ensure it keeps those accounts. He pointed to a new multiyear contract with Ryder to manage Philips’ warehousing, all transportation to U.S. retail customers and handle cross-water operations from Philips Mexican factories.
He said Ryder has worked with Philips to develop an end-to-end program for supply chain management.
