Philips Electronics in China

Under fierce competition coming from world players and domestic companies, Rob Westerhof, General Manager and President of Philips Electronics China Group, was refining his company's strategy to maintain a position of leadership in China. Philips had grown fast (5 billion US dollars) in China, and had become a large and complex organization, including factories, joint ventures, wholy owned subsidiaries and sales and distribution networks, and employing more than 23,000 people. Key to Mr. Westerhof concerns was how Philips should be structured in China in order to "fit" within the whole Philips Electronics Corporation and within the specifics needs of competing in China.