Panasonic reportedly in talks to acquire controlling stake in Focus Lighting & Fixtures

Electronics major Panasonic is reportedly in talks with Focus Lighting and Fixtures, a major player in the retail lighting industry, for acquiring controlling stake in the latter. According to an ET report, the deal involves buying the Sheth family's (founding shareholders of Focus group) and a public offer. As per the report, the negotiations are in advanced stage and that the acquisition would be worth Rs 526 crore. 

Focus Lighting & Fixtures, an NSE listed company, is a major player in the retail solutions space with large scale manufacturing facility and significant investments in R&D. The company, which caters to big players in the retail space, had introduced IoT and other smart lighting solutions a few years back for more efficient lighting operations in stores. 

While there has been no official comment from Focus or Panasonic regarding the development, it remains to be seen what the deal, if it goes through, will mean for the companies and to the overall retail lighting segment – a narrow but focused B2B space with a few major players. 

With more and more retail brands, especially from categories such as jewellery/lifestyle/accessories/fashion categories enhancing their focus on right lighting in store, the demand for right lighting solutions has been growing. 

Most store architects do agree that lighting should constitute at least 10% of the store design budge, though in reality the lighting spend varies- it could be anything from 8% to 15% depending on the category and the scale of the project. For Panasonic entering this space, would mean scaled-up focus on a promising B2B segment in India. According to the ET report, B2B is the biggest revenue generator globally.