Olivia Qiu, the chief innovation officer for Signify, addresses the audience at the 2025 Signify Consumer Day event on April 22. [Photo by Li Junfeng / chinadaily.com.cn]
Dutch multinational lighting company Signify, formerly known as Philips Lighting, will continue to invest in China and constantly enhance its innovation capabilities, according to Olivia Qiu, chief innovation officer for Signify.
“Signify’s commitment to China remains steadfast, driven not only by the country’s vast consumer base and expansive market, but also by the wealth of local talents who can inject new vigor into our innovation team, meeting the needs of both the Chinese and global markets,” said Qiu, during the 2025 Signify Consumer Day event on April 22.
During the event, Signify premiered the Philips LumCare Solutions, a comprehensive product line tailored specifically to cater to the demands of the elderly in China.
It focuses on the physiological needs and living scenarios of seniors, integrating intelligent light formulas, artificial intelligence fall detection and health data analysis, as well as barrier-free interactive design.
“China has long been known as an important global manufacturing base, but in reality, it has gradually entered an aging society. Therefore, this market has a huge scale and enormous potential,” Qiu said.
“From an innovative perspective, our development of aging-friendly products is not solely focused on market size and profitability, but also adheres to the concept of serving consumers,” she added.
Signify’s roots in China date back over a century to the 1920s when Philips Lighting’s products entered the Chinese market. Over two decades ago, one of Signify’s three research centers landed in Shanghai, its current Asia-Pacific headquarters, with the other two located in Boston in the United States and the Dutch city of Eindhoven, respectively.
“We chose Shanghai because of the city’s abundant talent pool and the longstanding robust support from various levels of the Shanghai municipal government,” Qiu said.
“Innovation is at the core of our business, ingrained in our DNA. The technological advancements achieved are the result of collaborative efforts across our global teams,” she added.
Among the first wave of foreign-funded enterprises to enter China, Signify’s success is not only attributed to its own technological and innovative efforts, but also relies on close collaboration with Chinese IoT (Internet of Things) companies, such as Xiaomi, Alibaba, and Huawei.
“China boasts numerous outstanding IoT platforms and enterprises. We aim to leverage these resources to propel our products to Chinese consumers,” she said.
Qiu stated that with the rise in national economy and living standards, Chinese consumers scrutinize the technological differentiators and product distinctiveness of various brands when making purchases.
“Therefore, similar to other industries, products that can stand out in the Chinese market are also more competitive in the global market,” she said.
Li Junfeng contributed to this story.
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