Panasonic
Panasonic Holdings Corporation[a] is a Japanese multinational electronics company, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Japan. It was founded in 1918 as Matsushita Electric Housewares Manufacturing Works[b] in Fukushima, Osaka by Kōnosuke Matsushita. In 1935, it was incorporated and renamed Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.[c] In 2008, it changed its name to Panasonic Corporation[d]. In 2022, it became a holding company and was renamed.
For other uses, see Panasonic (disambiguation).
Native name
パナソニック ホールディングス株式会社
Panasonikku Hōrudingusu kabushiki gaisha
- Matsushita Electric Manufacturing Works (1918–1935)
- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (1935–2008)
- Panasonic Corporation (2008–2023)[1]
Worldwide
- Kazuhiro Tsuga (chairman)
- Yuki Kusumi[3] (president and CEO)
- Artificial intelligence
- Automation
- Construction
- Electrical equipments
- Electronics
- Entertainment
- Fans
- Home appliances
- Industrial equipments
- IoT
- Lighting
- Personal computers
- Real estate
- Rechargeable batteries
- Robotics
- Software
¥357.5 billion (2022)[* 1]
¥255.3 billion (2022)[* 1]
¥8.023 trillion (2022)[* 1]
¥3.347 trillion (2022)[* 1]
233,391 (2023)[4]
Panasonic Corporation of North America (US)
- Panasonic Corporation
- Panasonic Automotive Systems
- Panasonic Entertainment & Communication
- Panasonic Housing Solutions
- Panasonic Connect
- Panasonic Industry
- Panasonic Energy
- Panasonic Operational Excellence
- Anchor Electricals
- Panasonic Ecology Systems
- Panasonic Electric Works
- Panasonic Avionics Corporation
- Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.
- Blue Yonder
- holdings.panasonic (corporate)
- panasonic.com (consumer)
In addition to consumer electronics, of which it was the world's largest maker in the late 20th century, Panasonic offers a wide range of products and services, including rechargeable batteries, automotive and avionic systems, industrial systems, as well as home renovation and construction.[5][6][7][8][9] Panasonic has a primary listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX 100 indices. It has a secondary listing on the Nagoya Stock Exchange.
Corporate name[edit]
From 1925 to October 1, 2008, the company's corporate name was "Matsushita Electric Industrial Co." (MEI).[10][11] On January 10, 2008, the company announced that it would change its name to "Panasonic Corporation", in effect on October 1, 2008, to conform with its global brand name "Panasonic".[12][13][14] The name change was approved at the shareholders' meeting on June 26, 2008, after consultation with the Matsushita family.[15][16]
In 2022, Panasonic announced a reorganization plan which split the company into Panasonic Holdings Corporation (the former Panasonic Corporation) and conversion of its divisions into subsidiaries; the Lifestyle Updates Business Division being the division that took the Panasonic Corporation name after the reorganization. The reorganization took effect on April 1, 2022.[1]
Brand names[edit]
Panasonic Corporation currently sells virtually all of its products and services worldwide under the Panasonic brand, having phased out the Sanyo brand in the first quarter of 2012.[17] It uses the marketing slogan "A Better Life, A Better World". The company has sold products under a number of other brand names during its history.
In 1927, Matsushita adopted the "National"[e] brand name for a new lamp product.[18] In 1955, the company began branding audio speakers and lamps as "PanaSonic" for markets outside of Japan.[19] Further refined to Panasonic, taken from the words "pan" – meaning "all" – and "sonic" – meaning "sound",[20] the brand was created for the Americas because the National brand was already registered by others.[20] Panasonic also sold the first bread machine.[21]
The company began to use the brand name "Technics"[f] in 1965 for audio equipment.[19] The use of multiple brands lasted for some decades.[19] While National had been the premier brand on most Matsushita products, including audio and video, National and Panasonic were combined as National Panasonic in 1988 after the worldwide success of the Panasonic name.
In 1974, Motorola sold its Quasar brand and facilities to Matsushita.[22]
In May 2003, the company announced that Panasonic would become its global brand, and launched the global tagline "Panasonic ideas for life."[23] By March 2004, Matsushita replaced the National name for products and outdoor signboards, except for those in Japan.[23] They would eventually phase out the National brand in Japan by March 2010.[12]
In September 2013, the company adopted a new tagline to better illustrate their vision: "A Better Life, A Better World."[24]
The Chinese company Shun Hing Electric Works and Engineering Co. Ltd (信興電工工程有限公司) has sold imported Panasonic and National branded product under the brand name Rasonic since the Matsushita Electric Industrial era. They have also sold MEI and Panasonic products under their original brand names. In June 1994, Panasonic Shun Hing Industrial Devices Sales (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. (松下信興機電(香港)有限公司) and Panasonic SH Industrial Sales (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (松下電器機電(深圳)有限公司) were established by joint venture between Matsushita Electric Industrial and Shun Hing Group respectively,[25][26] making Rasonic a product brand for MEI and subsequently the Panasonic Corporation.
In September 2014, Panasonic announced the revival of the Technics brand.[27]
Former operations[edit]
MCA Inc.[edit]
Matsushita bought American media company MCA Inc. for US$6.6 billion.[146][147] In 1995, it sold 80% of MCA's shares to Canadian drink company Seagram.[148][149][150] MCA was renamed Universal Studios Inc. in 1996,[151] after which its motion picture business has changed hands continuously, Vivendi, General Electric and Comcast in order, while the music division has become Universal Music Group, acquired and wholly owned by Vivendi up until 2019.[152]
Sponsorships[edit]
Football[edit]
Panasonic sponsors the German footballer Marco Reus, who plays for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and Germany.[159]
Panasonic owns Panasonic Wild Knights a rugby club base in Gunma just outside of Tokyo. They compete in the highest level of rugby in Japan Top League.
Panasonic owns Gamba Osaka, a club from the J.League, the Japanese professional football league.[160]
Panasonic is an official partner and sponsor of AFC Champions League and Major League Soccer.[161]
Between 1981 and 1983, Panasonic was the shirt sponsor of English football club Nottingham Forest F.C.
On January 16, 2010, Panasonic signed a three-year, ₹ 47 million (£518,500) jersey sponsorship deal for the India national football team.[162]
Environmental record[edit]
Panasonic is ranked in joint 11th place (out of 16) in Greenpeace's Guide to Greener Electronics, which ranks electronics manufacturers on policies and practices to reduce their impact on the climate, produce greener products and make their operations more sustainable.[174] The company is one of the top scorers on the Products criteria, praised for its good product life cycles and the number of products which are free from polyvinyl chloride plastic (PVC). It also scores maximum points for the energy efficiency of its products with 100 percent of its TVs meeting the latest Energy Star standards and exceeding the standby power requirement.
However, Panasonic's score is let down by its low score on the Energy criteria, with the Guide stating it must focus on planned reductions of greenhouse gases (GHG), set targets to reduce GHG emissions by at least 30% by 2015 and increase renewable energy use by 2020.[174]
In 2014, an article in The Guardian reported that Panasonic will compensate its expatriate workers in China a "hazard pay" as compensation for the chronic air pollution they are subjected to as they work.[175]
In 2020, Panasonic joined WIPO GREEN as an official partner in an effort to address climate change.[176]
In February 2022, the Wall Street Journal reported that Panasonic got its highest-emitting Chinese factory to "virtually net zero" carbon dioxide.[177]