Sometimes it seemed like Eric Rondolat would never leave, so close was he to the lighting company Signify. The French-Italian director has led the company since 2012, when it was still a division of Philips. Last year he also received a contract for several years. But on Friday morning, Signify announced that Rondolat is leaving, earlier than planned.
First a quick refresher: what is Signify again?
Today you can hardly tell, but Signify is in fact the remnant of the cradle of the once all-powerful Philips. The company includes the former lighting division of the Eindhoven company, where it all started in 1891 with Gerard Philips and his light bulb factory on the Emmasingel. Philips listed the branch on the stock exchange in 2016. Signify is known for its Philips Hue lamps, which can be controlled with a telephone.
Okay, clear. Why is Rondolat leaving?
According to a statement of the company, the supervisory board and Rondolat (1966) agree that “the time is right” for a change at the top. Speaking to analysts on Friday morning, Rondolat said a reorganization was completed last year and the company can now enter a new phase.
On Friday, Signify did not present very good figures for 2024. Both turnover (6.14 billion euros) and profit (approximately 600 million euros) were lower than in 2023.
Doesn’t that play a role in his departure?
The lower profit is certainly a setback, but to be honest, Signify has been shrinking for years. Traditionally, the company mainly sells incandescent lamps, many of which are made in Europe. However, the rise of LED lighting has completely changed the market: these lamps last longer and are often made cheaply and on a large scale in Asia by all kinds of parties. Signify is therefore trying to position itself as a lighting service provider, for example by providing entire buildings with lamps, or by selling ‘smart’, digital lighting. But this cannot undo the major contraction.
Rondolat, about whom little is known and who rarely made sensational statements, therefore fulfilled a remarkable role in Dutch business. Signify was in a situation of managed declineas it is called: trying to deal with shrinkage as best as possible. Rondolat was well served: he was a master at reducing costs faster than turnover through cutbacks, which often kept Signify’s profitability at a reasonable level.
Rondolat implemented several rounds of layoffs over the years and also closed a large part of the Dutch factories in Winterswijk and Maarheeze. “Closing factories is part of my job,” he once told journalists. Signify now employs approximately 29,000 people, compared to 37,000 in 2019. The company was also demoted from the AEX index.
A mixed inheritance, then.
Indeed, unions were not very sad about his departure on Friday. In the meantime, Signify’s stock price is almost exactly the same as at the IPO. On the other hand, the question is whether there could have been more to this struggling company than Rondolat squeezed out. His successor can now try that, but there is no name yet.