Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.
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| Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 松下電器産業株式会社 |
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| Type | Public, TYO: 6752, NYSE: MC |
| Founded | Osaka, Japan (1918) |
| Headquarters |  Kadoma, Osaka, Japan |
| Key people | Konosuke Matsushita, Founder Kunio Nakamura, Chairman ,Fumio Ohtsubo, President |
| Industry | Electronics |
| Products | AVC networks, Home appliances, Components and devices, others |
| Revenue | ▲ 9,108,170 Million Yen (Fiscal year ended March 31, 2007) |
| Employees | ▼328,645 (Consolidated, as of March 31, 2007) |
| Website | Panasonic Global Site |
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (松下電器産業株式会社 Matsushita Denki Sangyō Kabushiki-gaisha?) (TYO: 6752, NYSE: MC) is a Japanese electronics manufacturer based in Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. It produces products under a variety of names including Panasonic and Technics.
The company was founded by Konosuke Matsushita in 1918 to sell duplex lamp sockets. In 1927, it produced a bicycle lamp, the first product it marketed under the brand name National. Since then, it has become the largest Japanese electronics producer. In addition to electronics, Matsushita offers non-electronic products and services such as home renovation services.
Matsushita was ranked the 59th company in the world in 2007 by the Forbes Global 500 and is among the Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders.[1]
The common English pronunciation is /ˌmɑtsuːˈʃiːtə/, while the proper Japanese pronunciation for the company is /matsɯɕ(i)ta/.
On January 10, 2008, the company announced that on October 1, 2008 it will change its name to Panasonic Corporation, unifying the Matsushita, National and Panasonic brands under the new corporate name.[2]
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[edit] Brands and divisions
Matsushita produces electronic products under a variety of names, including:
- Panasonic (home appliances for the overseas market, personal electronics, audio/video equipment, microchips, automotive components)
- National (home appliances for the Japanese market)
- Nais (components for automated systems, replaced by Panasonic in 2004)
- Quasar (lower-priced televisions, video equipment and appliances in the North American market—being phased out)
- Technics (audio equipment)
- Ramsa (professional audio equipment)
- Rasonic (as of 1994, home appliances for the Chinese market).
In many computer systems, Matsushita devices identify themselves as "MATSHITA", to fit the limit of 8 characters imposed by Microsoft Windows device handlers.
[edit] History
Matsushita was founded in 1918 by Konosuke Matsushita and operated factories in Japan and Asia through the end of World War II, producing electrical components and appliances such as light fixtures, motors, and electric irons.
After World War II, Matsushita regrouped and began to supply the post war boom in Japan with radios and appliances. Matsushita's brother-in-law, Toshio Iue founded Sanyo as a subcontractor for components after WWII. Sanyo grew to become a competitor to Matsushita.
In 1961, Konosuke Matsushita traveled to the United States and met with American dealers. Matsushita 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.[3]
The company used the National trademark outside of North America during the 1950s through the 1970s. It sold televisions, radios, and home appliances in some markets. The company began opening manufacturing plants around the world. It quickly developed a reputation for well-made reliable products.
The company debuted a hi-fi speaker in Japan in 1965 with the brand Technics. This line of high quality stereo components became worldwide favorites. The most famous product still made today is the SL-1200 record player, acknowledged for its high performance, precision, and durability.
In November 1999, the Japan Times reported that Matsushita planned to develop a "next generation first aid kit" called the Electronic Health Checker. At the time, the target market was said to be elderly people, especially those living in rural areas where medical help might not be immediately available, so it was planned that the kit would include support for telemedicine. The kits were then in the testing stage, with plans for eventual overseas distribution, to include the United States.
In recent years the company has been involved with the development of high-density optical disc standards intended to eventually replace the DVD and the SD memory card.
Since the spring of 2004, Matsushita has used Panasonic as its primary global brand. The matsushita.co.jp website now redirects to panasonic.co.jp.[3]
On January 19, 2006 Matsushita announced that, starting in February, it will stop producing analog televisions (then 30% of its total TV business) to concentrate on digital TVs. [4]
On January 10, 2008 Matsushita announced that it intends to change the company name to Panasonic, effective October 1, 2008. The decision is pending on approval at the firm's annual shareholder's meeting in June. [5]
[edit] Shareholders
As of March 31, 2008[6]
- Moxley & Co. (ADR) 7.58%
- The Master Trust Bank of Japan, Ltd. (trust account) 5.48%
- Japan Trustee Services Bank, Ltd. (trust account) 3.56%
- State Street Bank and Trust Co. 2.77%
- Nippon Life Insurance Co. 2.73%
- Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation 2.35%
- Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd. 1.43%
- Matsushita Electric Employee Shareholding Association 1.38%
- Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. 1.28%
- State Street Bank and Trust Co. 505103 1.05%
Issued shares by type of shareholders (as of March 31, 2007)[7]: Japanese financial institutions 32.9%, overseas investors 28.5%, other corporations 6.3%, individuals and others 19.8%, treasury stock 12.5%
[edit] See also
- List of Matsushita products
- Panasonic CD interface
- List of Japanese companies
- Gamba Osaka
- Technics
- Hiro Matsushita
- Toughbook
[edit] Notes
- ^ Fortune Global 500 Profile, CNN, retrieved 7 September 2007
- ^ [1] Official site, retrieved January 10, 2008
- ^ a b Matsushita expands use of Panasonic brand name globally in April, 2003
- ^ Panasonic exiting analog TV business - Engadget
- ^ Matsushita to rename itself as Panasonic from October Japan Economy News & Blog - Business, Economy, Marketing and Economic Reports
- ^ Matsushita Announces Continuation of Policy toward Large-scale Purchases of Company's Shares
- ^ Investor Information, Annual Report 2007
[edit] Further reading
- Matsushita Leadership by John Paul Kotter, Simon and Schuster (1998)
[edit] External links
- panasonic.net Global Home.
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