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Philips was 
founded in 1891 
by a mechanical 
engineer, Gerard 
Philips, to manu-
facture lightbulbs.
Under his brother, 
Anton, the firm 
grew rapidly, but 
wartime shortages
forced the "vert-
ical integration" 
(making everything 
from the glass 
bulbs to cardboard 
packaging), which 
was to prove the 
company's strength
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Anton Philips, 
then 48, took over
from his elder 
brother, Gerard, in 
1922. Anton had a 
genius for market-
ing. He introduced 
new electrical 
goods including 
radios (the first 
Philips set 
appeared in 1927), 
and began turning
his company into 
an industrial giant
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The electric tea-
kettle must surely
be the simplest
and best electrical 
gadget in the 
home. It is faster 
and safer, more 
adaptable, 
energy-efficient 
and mobile than 
its stove-top 
equivalent. Such 
devices became 
the bread-and-
butter of Philips 
and its many
competitiors
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Electrical goods, 
from steamirons 
to microwaves, 
have always been 
marketed as 
labor-saving 
devices. This was 
an important 
selling-point as 
more women 
went out to work 
but still bore 
responsibility for 
the chores in
the household
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Competition from 
Japan, oil crises 
and recessions 
provoked a series
of crises. And the 
problem remains 
that in the four
decades since 
Anton Philips' 
death, his goal - 
consumer durables
in every home - 
has largely been 
achieved. Philips 
now makes 
super-chips, but 
not washing 
machines
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In the Twenties 
Philips was a 
leader in the 
home entertain-
ment field - with
the radio. The 
company launched 
the CD (co-prod-
uced with Sony), 
but recent efforts
to sell innovations
such as the digital 
cassette, high-
definition TV and 
CDi players, have 
hit problems
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