Norelco is the American brand name for electric shavers and other personal care products made by the Consumer Lifestyle division of Philips.
For personal care products marketed outside the United States, Philips used the Philishave trademark until 2006. Philips then dropped that name and began using the Philips name.
History of the name
From the early 1940s, 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 and that it may cause litigation. As a result, Philips instead used the name Norelco, an acronym for "North American Philips [electrical] Company." Philips continued to use that name for all their US products until 1974, when Philips purchased The Magnavox Company. Philips then relabeled their US consumer electronics products to the Magnavox name, but retained the Norelco name for their other US products. When Philips bought Philco in 1981, Philips was able to freely use the Philips name for all of their US 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 US buyers who were reluctant to purchase foreign brands. The market share of Philips, a European company, was very low in the US compared to other countries; with their Norelco and Magnavox brands, they were able to get a larger market share.
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.
Norelco shavers
Philips began making electric shavers in 1939. 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 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.
Norelco cassette tape recorders
Norelco introduced the Philips Compact Cassette portable tape player/recorder in the United States under the Norelco brand name in November 1964. It was called the Carry-Corder 150.
Norelco video cameras
Philips made and marketed a line of Norelco professional video cameras 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. By the 1980s, the Norelco name was dropped in favor of Philips. Later marketed using the BTSâ€"Broadcast Television Systems Inc.â€"brand name in a joint venture with Bosch, the division was subsequently sold to Thomson's Grass Valley, then to Belden.
References
External links
- Shavers:
- Official Philips Norelco website
- Second Puberty Philips' humorous introduction to their Bodygroom system
- Television commercials
- classic Santa riding a razor "Noelco" ad from the 1960s
