View source for Engineering:Norelco

{{short description|American brand name}}
'''Norelco''' is the American brand name for [[Engineering:Electric razor|electric shaver]]s and other personal care products made by the Consumer Lifestyle division of [[Company:Philips|Philips]].

For personal care products marketed outside the United States, Philips used the Philishave [[Social:Trademark|trademark]] until 2006. Philips then dropped that name and began using the Philips name.

==History of the name==

From the early 1940s, [[Company:Philco|Philco]] was legally able to prevent Philips from using the name "Philips" on any products marketed in the United States, because the two names were judged to sound similar enough to cause consumer confusion and potentially lead to claims of trademark infringement.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IVCCUSyJzNgC |title=Corporate Mergers Transitioning the American Economy: Corporate Buyouts and a Junk Bond Market Out of Control |last=Reeves |first=Jayson |date=2012-10-01 |publisher=iUniverse |isbn=9781475937831 |language=en}}</ref> This was made official and legally binding on January 19, 1943, when the court ruled in favor of the plaintiff in the corresponding case of ''Philco Corporation v. Philips Mfg. Co.'', that allowed Philco to prevent Philips from using their name on their products sold in the US.<ref>[https://casetext.com/case/philco-corporation-v-phillips-mfg-co], Casetext.com listing for Philco Corporation v. Philips Mfg. Co.</ref> As a result, Philips instead used the name '''Norelco''', an acronym for "'''Nor'''th American Philips ['''el'''ectrical] '''Co'''mpany".  Philips continued to use that name for all their U.S. products until 1974, when Philips purchased The [[Company:Magnavox|Magnavox]] Company.  Philips then relabeled their U.S. consumer electronics products as Magnavox, but retained the Norelco name for their other U.S. products.  When Philips bought Philco in 1981, Philips was able to freely use the Philips name for all of their U.S. products, but they chose to retain the Norelco name for personal care appliances, and the Magnavox name for economy-priced consumer electronics.

One reason for retaining the Norelco name for personal care appliances was that a shift to the Philips name could have alienated those American buyers who were reluctant to purchase foreign brands.  The [[Finance:Market share|market share]] of Philips, a European company, was very low in the U.S. compared to other countries, but with their Norelco and Magnavox brands, they were able to get a larger market share.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.electricshavereview.com/philips-norelco-razors/ |title=Electricshavereview.com |website=www.electricshavereview.com |access-date=2016-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617183835/http://www.electricshavereview.com/philips-norelco-razors/ |archive-date=2016-06-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Philips began co-branding their shavers "Philips Norelco" in 2005 to improve Philips' brand recognition in the United States, a first step towards an intended phase out of the Norelco name.<ref>
{{cite news
 | title = Case Study: Philips' Norelco / How neck hairs led to the remaking of an icon
 | url = http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_24/b4038413.htm
 | publisher = Business Week
 | date = 2007-06-11
 | access-date = 2008-01-23
 }}
</ref>

==Norelco shavers==
[[File:Robotskin.png|thumb|right|Robotskin advertisement]]
Philips began making electric shavers in 1939. [[Social:World War II|World War II]] delayed their introduction in the United States until 1948.  The product was not successful until a two-headed model was introduced in 1951.

Philips introduced the Philips Norelco Bodygroom shaver for shaving male body hair in 2006.  An online website as well as a demonstration on Howard Stern's show garnered attention.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dmnews.com/Word-of-mouth-makes-the-cut-for-Philips-Norelco-Bodygroom/article/93364/|title=Word of mouth makes the cut for Philips Norelco Bodygroom|date=2006-11-07|website=Direct Marketing News|access-date=2016-05-21}}</ref>  It was advertised in a science fiction series of adverts and shorts directed by Bruno Aveillan called ''Robotskin'' in 2007.

==Norelco tape recorders==
[[File:Vintage Norelco Model 95 Miniature Cassette Recorder, The Idea Machine, Made In Holland, Circa 1974 (38664110491).jpg|thumb|upright|Norelco Model 95 Miniature Cassette Recorder, The Idea Machine, Made In Holland, Circa 1974]]
Norelco introduced the Philips 3 inch open reel portable tape player/recorder, being the EL 3586/25 in the United States under the Norelco brand name in November 1963. It was called the Continental 101.

==Norelco video cameras==


[[Company:Philips|Philips]] made and marketed a line of Norelco [[Engineering:Professional video camera|professional video camera]]s in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s.  CBS was a notable customer, using models PC-60, PC-70, PC-72, PCP-90, the LDH series, and later the LDK series. The PC-60 was notable as one of the first major color television cameras, competing with the RCA TK-40/41 line but eventually winning out as industry standard (so much so that NBC, which was owned by RCA, bought Norelco PC cameras for sports and outside broadcasts) due to its light weight, servo-operated zoom lens, and advanced color reproduction. By the 1980s, the Norelco name was dropped in favor of Philips. Later marketed using the BTS—Broadcast Television Systems Inc.—brand name in a joint venture with Bosch, the division was subsequently sold to Thomson's [[Company:Grass Valley|Grass Valley]], then to [[Company:Belden (electronics company)|Belden]].

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* Television commercials - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVk6JKDa3zI classic Santa riding a razor "Noelco" ad from the 1960s]


[[Category:Cameras]]

{{Sourceattribution|Norelco|1}}