Market watcher: LEDs revolutionize lighting industry
Up to 2020, the general lighting market will almost double to €83 billion euros from €46 billion, the company believes. Within this time frame, the market share of LEDs will explode from currently 9 percent to 60 percent.
This extreme change will fundamentally reshape the entire lighting industry. Technological progress will drive the industry transformation. Since the population will increasingly live in cities where they spend 80 percent of their time within buildings, the lighting industry will have to meet increasing product demand from private as well as from corporate users.
At the same time, the industry is confronted with tighter regulations regarding energy consumption. In this environment, the market watchers expect annual price reductions for LED-based lighting systems of 20 percent, while at the same time the efficiency of these products will rise by 20 percent. This will result in an increasing overall attractiveness of LEDs over traditional lighting.
This trend will also affect the design of luminaries and lighting systems. In the future, luminaries will no longer be designed and understood as single components but become increasingly integrated into smart lighting and building management systems. This offers new chances for the project business: planning and designing of professional lighting management systems is gaining priority; new sales and marketing concepts will arise.
The market entry of highly capitalized Asian LED manufacturers who strongly influence the pricing level will drive a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the industry. As an example for this trend, the consultancy quotes the acquisition of Siteco by Osram.
"The trend goes towards integrated lighting systems manufacturers", says analyst Johannes Spannagl. "The success of the LEDs in the lighting industry clearly has the character of a revolution, not evolution. Only companies who take on these challenges quickly and thoroughly will have a chance in the increasing international competition".