Panasonic

Panasonic Holdings Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, sells, and services various electrical and electronic products worldwide. It operates through Appliances, Life Solutions, Connected Solutions, Automotive, and Industrial Solutions segments. The Appliances segment offers air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens, rice cookers, personal care products, TVs, digital cameras, video equipment, home audio equipment, fixed-phones, show cases, compressors, and fuel cells. The Life Solutions segment provides lighting fixtures, lamps, wiring devices, solar photovoltaic systems, spatial sterilizing/deodorizing equipment, interior and exterior furnishing materials, ventilation and air conditioning equipment, air purifiers, bicycles, and nursing care related products, as well as kitchen and bath products. The Connected Solutions segment offers aircraft in-flight entertainment systems and communications services, electronic component mounting machines, welding equipment, PCs and tablets, projectors, and professional AV systems, as well as solutions for various industries. The Automotive segment provides automotive-use infotainment systems, head-up displays, automotive audio systems, automotive switches, vehicle camera modules, advanced driver assistance systems, automotive mirrors, and cylindrical and prismatic lithium-ion batteries, as well as devices and systems for electric automobiles. The Industrial Solutions segment offers relays, switches, power supply products, industrial motors and sensors, capacitors, coils, resistors, electronic circuit board materials, semiconductors, and LCD panels, as well as small lithium?ion, dry, and micro batteries. The company was formerly known as Panasonic Corporation. Panasonic Holdings Corporation was founded in 1918 and is headquartered in Kadoma, Japan.

Panasonic, then Matsushita Electric, was founded in 1918 by K?nosuke Matsushita as a vendor of duplex lamp sockets. In the 1920s, Matsushita began regularly launching products. In 1927, he produced a line of bicycle lamps that were the first to be marketed with the National brand name. During World War II, the company operated factories in Japan and other parts of Asia which produced electrical components and appliances such as light fixtures, motors, electric irons, wireless equipment and its first vacuum tubes.After the war, the Matsushita group, largely having been split into MEI and MEW by the dissolution imposed by the occupation force, imperfectly regrouped as a Keiretsu and began to supply the post-war boom in Japan with radios and appliances, as well as bicycles. Matsushita's brother-in-law, Toshio Iue, founded Sanyo as a subcontractor for components after World War II. Sanyo grew to become a competitor to Matsushita, but was later acquired by Panasonic in December 2009.In 1961, Matsushita traveled to the United States and met American dealers. The company began producing television sets for the U.S. market under the Panasonic brand name, and expanded the use of the brand to Europe in 1979.The company used the National brand outside North America from the 1950s to the 1970s . The inability to use the National brand name led to the creation of the Panasonic brand in the United States. Over the next several decades, Matsushita released additional products, including black and white TVs , electrical blenders, fridges , rice cookers , color TVs and microwave ovens .The company debuted a high-fidelity audio speaker in Japan in 1965 with the brand Technics. This line of high quality stereo components became a worldwide favorite, the most famous products being its turntables, such as the SL-1200 record player, known for its high-performance, precision and durability. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Matsushita continued to produce high-quality specialized electronics for niche markets, such as shortwave radios, and developed its successful line of stereo receivers, CD players and other components.In 1968, Matsushita began to make rotary compressors for air conditioners, and, in 1971, it began to make absorption chillers, also for air-conditioning applications.

In 1983, Matsushita launched the Panasonic Senior Partner, the first fully IBM PC compatible Japanese-made computer, and it also released inverter air conditioners.In 1984, Matsushita established the Panasoft software label, which published software for MSX computers from 1984 to 1989. The company also manufactured MSX computers of their own, such as Panasonic FS-A1.In November 1990, Matsushita agreed to acquire an American media company, MCA Inc., the predecessor of both Universal Music Group and Universal Pictures, for US$6.59 billion. The acquisition was preceded by the takeover of Columbia Pictures by Sony, the arch rival of Matsushita. At the time, Matsushita had dominated the home video market with the company's leading position in the electronics market. It had been strengthened by VHS, the de facto standard of consumer videotape that Matsushita and JVC co-introduced. Inspired by Sony's bold quest for Hollywood, Matsushita believed it could become a leader in the film industry as well. However, Matsushita subsequently sold 80% of MCA to Seagram Company for US$7 billion in April 1995, demoralized by the high volatility of the film industry.In 1992, Matsushita made the Panasonic FS-A1GT, the last model of the MSX turbo R computer.In 1998, Matsushita sold Anam National to Anam Electronics.

On May 2, 2002, Panasonic Canada marked its 35th anniversary in that country by giving $5 million to help build a "music city" on Toronto's waterfront.In 2005, Matsushita Toshiba Picture Display Co. Ltd. stopped production of CRTs at its factory in Horseheads, New York. A year later, in 2006, it stopped production at its Malaysian factory, following heavy losses. In 2007, it bought the venture from Toshiba, eventually ending all production.On January 19, 2006, Matsushita announced that it would stop producing analog televisions from the next month, to concentrate on digital televisions.In 2008, all models of electric shavers from the Panasonic factory were called Panasonic shavers, and they dropped Matsushita and National from their name, regardless of worldwide or Japanese markets.

In late 2006, Matsushita began talks with Kenwood Corporation to sell and spin off JVC. As of October 1, 2008, JVC and Kenwood merged to create the JVCKenwood Corporation.On November 3, 2008, Panasonic and Sanyo announced that they were holding merger talks, which eventually resulted in the acquisition of Sanyo by Panasonic. The merger was completed in December 2009, and resulted in a corporation with revenues of over ¥11.2 trillion .With the announcement that Pioneer would exit the production of its Kuro plasma HDTV displays, Panasonic purchased many of the patents and incorporated these technologies into its own plasma displays.

In April 2011, it was announced that Panasonic would cut its work force by 40,000 by the end of fiscal 2012 in a bid to streamline overlapping operations. The curtailment is about 10 percent of its group work force.In October 2011, Panasonic announced that it was going to trim its money-losing TV business by ceasing production of plasma TVs at its plant in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture by March 2012, cutting 1,000 jobs in the process. Also, it sold some of Sanyo's home appliances business to Haier.In January 2012, Panasonic announced that it had struck a deal with Myspace on its new venture, Myspace TV. Myspace TV will allow users to watch live television while chatting with other users on a laptop, tablet or the television itself. With the partnership, Myspace TV will be integrated into Panasonic Viera televisions.On May 11, 2012, Panasonic announced plans to acquire a 76.2% stake in FirePro Systems, an India-based company in infrastructure protection and security solutions such as fire alarm, fire suppression, video surveillance and building management.In April 2012, Panasonic spun off Sanyo DI Solutions, a digital camera OEM.In line with company prediction of a net loss of 765 billion yen, on November 5, 2012, the shares fell to the lowest level since February 1975 to 388 yen. In 2012, the shares plunged 41 percent. On November 14, 2012, Panasonic said it will cut 10,000 jobs and make further divestments.On May 18, 2013, Panasonic announced that it would invest $40 million in building a factory in Binh Duong, Vietnam, which was completed in 2014.In July 2013, Panasonic agreed to acquire a 13% stake in the Slovenian household appliance manufacturer Gorenje for around €10 million.In July 2013, Panasonic signed an agreement with Sony Corporation to develop Archival Disc, described as an optical disc format for long-term data archival purposes.In a press release following its announcement at IFA 2013, Panasonic announced that it had acquired the "Cameramanager video surveillance service" with the intention of expanding its reach to cloud-based solutions.In 2014, Panasonic Healthcare was bought by outside investors. Panasonic Healthcare was later renamed as PHCHD, which stands for Panasonic HealthCare HD.In July 2014, it was announced that Panasonic has reached a basic agreement with Tesla Motors to participate in the Gigafactory, the huge battery plant that the American electric vehicle manufacturer plans to build in the U.S. In August 2014, Tesla said the plant would be built in the Southwest or Western United States by 2020. The $5 billion plant would employ 6,500 people, and reduce Tesla's battery costs by 30 percent. The company said it was looking at potential sites in Nevada, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and California.In October 2014, Panasonic announced its initial investment in Tesla Motors’ battery factory would amount to "tens of billions" of yen, according to the firm's CEO.In November 2014, Panasonic announced its partnership with Photon Interactive to create customized and personalized digital signs in stores.In January 2015, Panasonic announced it has stopped making TVs in China and plans to liquidate its joint venture in Shandong.In March 2015, Panasonic announced plans to buy Houston-based satellite communication service provider ITC Global.In April 2015, Panasonic announced its new range of products and relaunched its brand in South Africa. The company intends to use South Africa as a springboard into Africa, with Nigeria and Egypt as its initial targets.In June 2015, Panasonic struck agreements with three Australian energy utilities to trial its home-based battery storage options.In November 2015, Panasonic announced that it set up a new plant in Suzhou, China, through its subsidiary, Panasonic Ecology Systems Co., Ltd, to produce a new type of catalyst-coated diesel particulate filter that decomposes matter contained in diesel engine exhaust gas.In November 2015, Panasonic starts to retail locally harvested produce from its indoor agriculture facility salads via Veggie Life branding in Singapore, from the very first licensed indoor vegetable farm in the country using Panasonic's own technology.In February 2016, Panasonic and the City of Denver formed a formal partnership to make Denver the "smartest" city in America. Joseph M. Taylor, chairman and CEO of Panasonic Corp. of America, laid out the plans for the partnership in four key areas: smart housing and small offices, energy and utilities, transportation and city services and smart buildings.Due to increased competition from China, Panasonic's Li-ion automotive market share decreased from 47% in 2014 to 34% in 2015. In June 2016, Tesla announced that Panasonic would be the exclusive supplier of batteries for its mass market vehicle Model 3. Batteries for the higher-end Model S sedan and Model X SUV will also be supplied by Panasonic. In early 2016, Panasonic president Kazuhiro Tsuga confirmed a planned total investment of about $1.6 billion by the company to construct Gigafactory to full capacity. However, after the number of Model 3 reservations became known in April, Panasonic moved production plans forward and announced a bond sale for $3.86 billion, most of it to be invested in Gigafactory.In 2016, Panasonic debuted a transparent TV.In July 2016, Panasonic unveiled its interest in making acquisitions in the artificial intelligence and machine learning space. According to a source, the company has put aside $10 million for use in either an acquisition or joint venture.In August 2018, the company announced, to avoid potential tax issues Panasonic will move its European headquarters from the UK to Amsterdam in October as Brexit approaches.

On September 25, 2018, Panasonic became one of the founding members of the L-Mount Alliance, and announced two full-frame mirrorless cameras and a range of L-Mount lenses to be launched in 2019. The 47-megapixel Panasonic Lumix S1R and the 24-megapixel Panasonic Lumix S1 will be the first full-frame mirrorless cameras produced by Panasonic and will offer the Lumix Pro support service for professional photographers. These cameras will also be equipped with Dual Image Stabilization technology to help photographers when shooting in low-light.In 2019, Panasonic sold its semiconductors and security systems businesses. The company also decided to completely exit from the liquid-crystal display panel business by 2021, marking the end of its display production, to focus its resources on the automotive and industrial businesses. Panasonic's LCD plant in Himeji, Hyogo will be overhauled to manufacture automotive batteries.In 2020, Panasonic exited the vending machine business, as it failed to achieve profitability, lagging behind rivals Fuji Electric, Sanden and Glory.Meanwhile, Panasonic has made an investment to take a 20% stake in Blue Yonder, the supply-chain management software company previously known as JDA Software, deepening the integration of the former's industrial connected technology and the latter's products that has been under way since a year ago.On November 19, 2020, Panasonic announced a restructuring set to be completed by 2022 in which the company spins off the domain companies as wholly owned subsidiaries while transforming itself into the holding company named Panasonic Holdings Corporation. Panasonic's plans are similar to that of its competitor, Sony, did on April 1, 2021, when Sony Corporation became Sony Group Corporation.

In January 2021, the company announced that it would put an end to its solar panel production.In March 2021, it was reported that Panasonic will buy Blue Yonder for $6.45 billion after buying a 20% stake in Blue Yonder for 86 billion yen in 2020. This deal is considered one of the biggest since 2011.In June 2021, it was reported that Panasonic sold its entire stake in Tesla for $3.6 billion.In August 2022, it was reported that the company, which is a suppler to Tesla, was in discussions to build a new electric vehicle battery plant in the US, with Oklahoma named at the time as a leading contender. This would be on top of the plant planned for Kansas. Each would have similar capacity.

In the first half of 2022, Panasonic is ranked fourth in the world with a market share of 10 per cent according to SNE research.

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A top global company by pursuing the management objectives of realizing a ubiquitous networking society and coexisting with the global environment through cutting edge technologies.