We're like a smaller speedboat now, more nimble: Versuni global CEO Henk de Jong

Versuni India (formerly known as Philips Domestic Appliances) launched its new manufacturing facility in Ahmedabad on January 3, with a plan to create more than 1,000 new jobs over the next three years. The company’s global CEO Henk S. de Jong says the new facility in India is a testimony to Versuni’s commitment to India’s fast-growing market. 

Excerpts from an interview:

For years China has been the manufacturing focal point in this region. How do you rate India’s capabilities as a manufacturing power?

 I see a good future for manufacturing in India. Of course, China has been a major player in the region, but more manufacturing will move into India over time.

The suppliers are getting better and while exports of home appliances are small scale right now, I can see it growing in a big way. We have been manufacturing products in India for many years now and  can say that over 70% of the products sold in India are made here. The new facility will help it to grow to 90%.

A significant portion of the components for these products are now coming from India itself. Isn’t it?

Our plan is to turn houses of our consumers into homes with the help of our two brands, namely, Philips and Preeti. Over 75% of the components of these products come from India. This helps in speed of production, creating an ecosystem around the factory that eventually can only help in producing better quality products.

We want our products to help consumers spend very little time doing household chores. The new facility in Gujarat will produce flagship products like the Philips airfryers and garment steamers, showcasing a shift in Indian consumer preferences. Versuni is manufacturing the airfryer for the first time in India with a fully integrated automatic robotic coating line. 

Research & development has been an area of focus for Philips (and Versuni) over the years. How’s the R&D facility in Chennai doing?

The plan is to capitalise on the growing opportunities in the Indian market. The R&D centre in Chennai continues to innovate and helps us grow. Most of our investments are in R&D and that’s hovering around 4-5% of our revenue in India.

Globally, our R&D team is 600-people strong. India has 4-5% of that team. But they are all working together. We do a number of consumer insight studies and then come up with new ideas. We are continually training people and have reduced the bureaucracy. Now there are less people managing R&D and more people working in R&D!

The company seems to have taken a more digital-first approach of late.

We have modernised the IT landscape and have adopted cloud solutions. We are applying AI in our manufacturing, devices, marketing and are launching more digital campaigns. The whole focus is on helping the consumer and the way to do that is to have a digital-first approach. 

Is India a unique market, with regard to home appliances?

Some of the trends are unique but some are the same the world over. Cleaning floors, air purifying etc are areas where the trends are the same globally. But Indian kitchens are different. The mixer grinder or the pressure cooker are areas where we have excellent products in India and we continuously innovate. The new pressure cooker under the Preeti brand is where my R&D team in India worked on and came up with something very innovative. Usually, pressure cookers can spill over and it takes a lot of time cleaning up the kitchen counter. Now, we have ensured it doesn’t spill over and the retailers are seeing this as a remarkable innovation.

When Philips Domestic Appliances became a stand-alone company (Versuni), with the goal to become a digital first, insights-led organisation, was there a fear of the influential Philip brand getting diluted?

For the consumer, there’s no change (Philip and Preeti will be the product names). Yes, some people were a little afraid of what would happen. However, we linked our company name to a new purpose. We are changing our culture. You can say we are like a smaller speedboat, more nimble. Fail fast and repair fast. We are not yet there, but we are on our way.