GE sees business double with the adoption of LED by retail

After arriving in external environments as the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon in Rio de Janeiro, LED technology is beginning to be adopted in the light of Brazil's retail networks. GE closed the first contract of its kind in the country, with the Spicy, network specializing in kitchen utensils, which swapped the conventional LED lighting in its 33 units. Now, GE is expected to obtain annual growth above 100% in revenue from such projects over the next three years.
The Spicy network will save 30% on power consumption and decrease in 58% of the total cost of maintenance with the project, according to GE. Although not open what is the total value of the project, the company claims that this economy will allow the return of investment to happen within four to 11 months, numbers that begin to attract more retailers in Brazil.
Another network, the Le Postiche, also began to use LED lighting in one of its units, in São Bernardo do Campo (SP), also by means of GE. "This move will intensify from now on. Today the penetration of retail LED is 2%, but in 2017 must be between 40% and 50%, "predicts Sérgio Binda, Chief Marketing Officer of GE's lighting Division. The numbers represent an increase of up to 25 times in the presence of this type of technology in retail in up to four years.
Isac Roizenblatt, technical director of the Brazilian Association of lighting industry (Abilux), States that the improvement of quality of LED technology in the last two years has also encouraged the adoption by retail. "With LED light sources have a certain restriction in its quality of color, which is no longer justified," he explains.
Second Banana, before the LED could do until consumers are mistaken regarding the color of a dress in the window, for example. With the evolution of this type of lighting, it doesn't happen anymore.
In addition, the LED lamps do not emit heat on the objects and have lower incidence of UV and infrared rays, reducing the degradation of materials and colours and wear of the paintings of the goods and furniture.
For Roizenblatt, the main advantages of LEDs are its high efficiency, which is 10 times greater compared to incandescent bulbs, and a duration of 25 to 30 times higher. "Not only input speed is higher because prices are still higher than would be appropriate, but that is changing quickly," he says.
According to GE, despite the high initial cost of the LED, there is willingness to invest in this technology because of the advantages it provides.
Local production
In the past three years, the GE lighting has tripled the LED solutions portfolio available in the Brazilian market for different segments, including retail and public lighting. Until 2020, the company says that about half of sales in Brazil will be coming from LED and other energy-efficient solutions. Even so, the local production of lamps of this type still not justified, but is also not completely discarded.
"It's a matter of volume. When technology is packed, local production can become viable, "says Binda. Until that happens, the equipments are imported mainly from China and the United States.
Overall, GE Lighting expects to expand by at least 10% its participation in the Brazilian market in the next five years.