Panasonic

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Panasonic was also the name of a Finnish electronic music duo.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Type	Public (NYSE: MC,TYO: 6752 )
Founded	March, 1918
Headquarters	Kadoma, Osaka, Japan
Key people	Fumio Ohtsubo, president
Industry	Electronics
Products	Television products telephones computers digital cameras
Revenue	¥8,137 (in billions)
Employees	334,402
Slogan	Ideas for Life.
Website	US Website

Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Under this brand Matsushita sells both plasma and CRT television sets, DVD players, telephones, projectors, VCRs, digital cameras, laptop computers under the sub-brand Toughbook, portable CD and analog tape decks and home stereo equipment, all of which are marketed under their slogan "Ideas for Life.". Panasonic is also known for featuring Japanese pop superstar Ayumi Hamasaki in their TV commercials. Wildly popular Lebanese singer, Amal Hijazi is also their brand-ambassador.

1 Introduction
2 Automobile Audio
3 Panasonic Corporation of North America
4 Panasonic Avionics Corporation
5 Timeline of Matsushita
6 Sponsorship
7 Panasonic in pop culture
8 Notes
9 External links

[edit] Introduction

Classic Panasonic bicycle ad still visible in New York City. Although this photo was taken in 2006, the company stopped offering bicycles in the U.S. market[1] back in 1989.

The brand Panasonic was created by Matsushita in 1955 for the US, Canada and Mexico because the National brand was already registered by others.^[1]^[2] The Panasonic brand was created from the elements "pan" meaning "all" combined with "sonic" meaning "sound", because it was first used for audio equipment.

Based on 2004 annual sales of electronics, Matsushita is the largest Japanese electronics maker ahead of Hitachi. Within the category of white goods, Matsushita is the world’s largest manufacturer.^{[citation needed]} In the past, due to its imitation tactics Matsushita has been ridiculed in Japan as "Maneshita" ("mane" means imitation), but in fact Matsushita does vast amounts of its own product planning, research and development.

Including its related companies, Matsushita has developed a wide variety of enterprises, centering on home electronics, industrial equipment, and telecommunications equipment. Though not widely advertised before, in recent years its notebook computer line (Toughbook) has gained popularity and commercials for it are being aired on television. Other brand names associated with Panasonic include its Viera televisions and Lumix digital cameras.

Japanese superstar, Ayumi Hamasaki in a Panasonic ad

The company's management style and corporate culture have been often compared to that of competitor Sony. When Sony is doing well, the number of books that praise Sony management increases, when conditions reverse, then more books that praise Panasonic management style are displayed in bookstores. Regardless of favorable sales and conditions, Sony and Panasonic are often viewed as rivals. This view probably arose from the videotape format wars between VHS (supported by Panasonic) and Betamax (supported by Sony)^{[citation needed]}. The largest direct competition between Sony and Panasonic is currently in the segment of audio products; Panasonic is also considered as Sony’s rival in sales of flat panel TVs, digital cameras and DVD recorders – areas where Panasonic is focusing its production, marketing and sales efforts. In contrast, Sony has recently diversified into the cinema, video game, and financial areas, whereas Panasonic's whitegoods have no competition from Sony.

Matsushita's current corporate strategy is to seek cooperation and joint ventures in the development of certain technologies (such as LCD displays), while continuing to compete against other companies such as Toshiba, Hitachi and Minebea to become the benchmark for Japanese electronics.

[edit] Automobile Audio

Panasonic sells radio (audio) products for automobiles and light trucks in the US market under the Panasonic brand (aftermarket) and as OEM equipment in automobile brands such as the Toyota Corolla. The primary examples of the OEM Radios are the Toyota Corolla single CD AM/FM radio labeled A51813 and the six disc changer AM/FM radio labeled A51814.

[edit] Panasonic Corporation of North America

A cordless phone produced by Panasonic

Panasonic Corporation of North America is the name for the American branch of Matsushita. It was known as Matsushita Electric Corporation of America (MECA) prior to 2005.

[edit] Panasonic Avionics Corporation

Panasonic Avionics Corporation [2](PAC) is the world's leading supplier of in-flight entertainment (IFE) and communication systems. Headquartered in Lake Forest, California where engineering, development and testing is performed while system installation, field engineering, major quality functions, certification and program management are performed at the Bothell, Washington facility - Panasonic Avionics Corporation employs approximately 2,800 employees based in over 70 locations worldwide, with major facilities in London, Toulouse, Hamburg, Dallas, Dubai and Singapore. A majority of the component manufacturing is carried out in Osaka, Japan.

The company provides airline passengers with a wide array of interactive applications at their seats, combining entertainment (digital music and movies on demand, games, interactive moving maps, satellite TV, and online shopping) with business tools (E-mail, live flight schedules, and in-flight internet access). PAC is also one of the chief suppliers to both Boeing and Airbus and their IFE systems will be featured on both the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A380 aircraft.

Among the many worldwide customers that use PAC systems are award-winning airlines such as Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.

Panasonic Avionics Corporation is a subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation of North America (PNA).

[edit] Timeline of Matsushita

1918 – Matsushita Electric Factory was founded
1927 – National brand name was introduced
1931 – Production of radios began
1932 – Purchased patents crucial for building radios, and disclosed the information freely to other radio makers as a contribution to the development of the electronics industry in Japan
1933 – Adopted a system of enterprise divisions. Constructed a large-scale factory at Kadoma, Osaka, and moved production facilities there
1935 – Restructuring of Matsushita Electric Industrial Company, establishment of the branch company Matsushita Electric Works
1941 – Joined military production, manufacturing wooden boats and wooden airplanes
1946 – Designated a restricted company by the Allied Powers General Headquarters
1952 – With technical cooperation provided by the Netherlands' Philips Electronics, Matsushita Electric Industrial Company was established. New factory construction and expansion followed
1954 – Began cooperation with Victor Company
1957 – Began the National Shop system – a sales distribution network solely for National products. It was a very effective sales network during Japan's high economic growth period
1965 – Began enforcing weekly two-day worker breaks. Adopted a new sales system that decreased the number of channels involved in the sales process
1977 – Began sales of VHS video
1983 - Launched the Panasonic JR-200 home computer
1986 – Begin using Panasonic as a brand name in Japan
1989 August 1 – Began large scale reform of technology departments
1990 – Consumer electronics products in Japan switched from the National to the Panasonic brand
1993 – Panasonic attempted to profit in the video game market with the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. However, stiff competition from Sony's PlayStation forced the system to be discontinued by the end of 1995
1993 – Cancelled the joint venture agreement with Philips, and changed their contract to closed license
1994 - Established joint venture Panasonic Shun Hing Industrial Sales (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd and Panasonic SH Industrial Sales (Shenzen) Co., Ltd in China with Shun Hing Electric Works (Hong Kong). Shun Hing's Rasonic brand becomes a Panasonic subsidiary.
1997 – A group consolidation policy was introduced, reducing the number of subsidiary companies
2001 – Panasonic releases a DVD-capable Nintendo GameCube called the "Q" (Japan only)
2002 – Technics products sold in the USA and Europe are renamed Panasonic
2003 – Introduced the global brand and slogan, “Panasonic. Ideas for life.”

[edit] Sponsorship

Panasonic are the principal sponsors of the Toyota F1 team.

Panasonic is a primary sponsor of Toyota's Formula 1 program (Toyota F1), also known as Panasonic Toyota Racing. Hiro Matsushita, grandson of the company founder, is a former race car driver who stays actively involved in racing.

Panasonic is an official partner and sponsor of Major League Soccer.

[edit] Panasonic in pop culture

It is said that in Kachou Shima Kosaku, a popular comic series written by Kensi Hirokane, the main character works at Hatsushiba Electric, which is modeled on the author’s work experience at Panasonic. The Osaka office which appeared in the comic is supposed to be the Matsushita Twin Tower at Kyobashi in Osaka, and when Kosaku is sent to work in China, the view from the Shanghai office is the same as the actual view from the Panasonic office in Shanghai.

In the popular Japanese Asahi Broadcasting Corporation program Panel Quiz Attack 25, the panel used in the stage setup was developed by Matsushita Electric. During the early days of the show, the technical staff of Matsushita Electric was stationed at the recording studio, in case of any unexpected occurrences.

In the Weird Al Yancovic song I'll Sue Ya he sues Panasonic for "drying his cat off in the Microwave oven."

[edit] Notes

^ Panasonic brand history
^ Matsushita expands use of Panasonic brand name worldwide in April, 2003

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Panasonic

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.

Subsidiaries: Panasonic | National | Technics | Quasar | JVC (50% shareholding)

Annual Revenue: 8,713 billion Yen ( FY 2004) | Employees: 334,752 | Stock Symbol: (TYO: 6752, NYSE: MC)| Website: http://panasonic.net/