Feb 18 2016
Energy Focus, Inc., a leader in LED lighting technologies, today announced that it has received initial orders for 25 stores for its tubular LED products for Kohl’s, the second largest department store chain and the 23rd largest retail chain in the U.S. by sales with over 1,100 stores.
The products, specifically designed for Kohl’s to meet its rigorous luminance and photometry requirements, aim to replace the T8 fluorescent lamps being used for cornice lighting that illuminate product displays and signage throughout the stores. The current fluorescent lamps do not produce sufficient light to attain the optical impact required for optimal customer experience and therefore have to draw lumen contributions from additional incandescent and metal halide lamps. The customized Energy Focus TLEDs are expected to replace these traditional lighting sources altogether and reduce energy consumption by approximately 64%. Additionally, they eliminate ongoing lamp and ballast maintenance costs without incurring excessive material and labor costs, and do not create unnecessary environmental waste that would result from replacing the existing lighting fixtures.
Kohl’s first came to Energy Focus seeking a unique LED solution to replace its outdated T8 fluorescent lighting, as well as the adjacent secondary light sources to ensure that not only the retrofit is technically achievable and cost effective, but also the ambience created by LED lighting does not disrupt or discount customer experience. Through multiple rounds of product sampling, engineering and retooling, Energy Focus R&D teams from both its U.S. and Taiwan offices worked in conjunction with Kohl’s and its national distribution partner over a period of approximately six months to develop an advanced, customized TLED product. The TLED developed for Kohl’s has significantly higher luminous efficacy than those offered by other major lighting brands with a specific beam angle that optimizes lumen output without significantly increasing product cost or requiring additional installation cost. It is expected to help Kohl’s enhance its customer shopping experience by providing ample, uniform light levels both vertically and horizontally from the ceiling to the floor with a smoother, flicker-free light spectrum, while dramatically reducing Kohl’s lighting energy consumption.
“We are extremely gratified to be able to offer Kohl’s the perfect LED lighting retrofit solution it has been seeking that improves its 'Triple Bottom Line'—people, planet and profit,” commented James Tu, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Energy Focus Inc. “Since 2014, Energy Focus has been working with an increasing number of national retailers to help them attain energy savings and achieve carbon emission reduction goals with industry-leading value propositions based on compelling payback, superior product performance and proven reliability. The tireless teamwork and customer-obsessed ingenuity from our global, world-class R&D and product development teams allows us to respond timely and precisely to the needs of our customers and create LED lighting solutions with outstanding value propositions that exceed customer expectations,” continued Mr. Tu.
“We believe that our retailer-specific TLED solutions and proven customization and supply chain capabilities, coupled with our seamless partnerships with national lighting distributors and expanding success stories and testimonials from our retailer customers, will together continue to spread and deepen our brand awareness and trust in the retail chain industry as LED adoption accelerates in the coming years,” concluded Mr. Tu.