Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.
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Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. in Kadoma, Osaka, Japan. Foreground left: Matsushita Electric House of History; behind: Corporate R&D laboratories |
(, ) is a
Japanese
electronics manufacturer based in
Kadoma,
Osaka prefecture,
Japan.
It was founded by
Konosuke Matsushita in 1918, with its first product being a duplex lamp socket. 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 and competes mainly with
Sony,
Thomson and
Philips. In addition to electronics Matsushita offers non-electronic products and services such as home renovation services.
As a semiconductor maker, Matsushita is among the
Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales Leaders.
The common English mispronunciation is Matsu-sheeta, while the proper Japanese pronunciation for the company is Mahtsu-sh'ta.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. had been delisted in London Stock Exchange.
Matsushita produces electronic products under a variety of names, including:
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Panasonic (home appliances for the overseas market, personal electronics, audio/video equipment, microchips, automotive components)
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National (home appliances for the Japanese market)
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Nais (components for automated systemsâ€"replaced by Panasonic in 2004)
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Quasar (lower-priced televisions, video equipment and appliances in the North American marketâ€"being phased out)
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Technics (audio equipment)
*
Ramsa (professional audio equipment).
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Panasonic Corporation of North AmericaMatsushita was founded in
1918 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 WWII, 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
1951,
Konosuke Matsushita traveled to the
United States and met with American
dealers. Matsushita began producing cheap
television sets for the U.S. market under the Panasonic
brand name, and signed a cooperative venture with
Philips the following year in order to incorporate more advanced Western
technologies into its products.
The company used the National trademark outside of North America during the 1950s through the 1970s to much success. 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 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 used by radio stations and disc jockeys alike, known for its high performance and durability.
During the
1970s, Matsushita expanded further in the U.S. market, purchasing
Quasar from
Motorola in
1974 and purchasing
MCA-Universal in
1989. Many American employees who transferred over from Motorola felt that they were discriminated against and filed a lawsuit in
1986 after three-quarters of American managers from the Quasar division were let go. [
1]
The company then became a major target of anti-Japanese sentiment among
workers in the
United States. However, the Japanese
stock market crash of
1989–
1990 caused Matsushita's international power to wane: the company sold many of its foreign assets in the
1990s, including Universal (to
Edgar Bronfman, Jr. of
Seagram's).
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.
Beginning in the fall of 2004, Matsushita is slowly beginning to use the Panasonic brand as its primary name. Note that the matsushita.co.jp website now redirects to panasonic.co.jp.
On
January 19,
2006 Matsushita announced that, starting in February, it will stop producing analog televisions (currently 30% of its total TV business) to concentrate on digital TVs. [
2]
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List of Matsushita products*
Panasonic CD interface*
List of Japanese companies*
Gamba Osaka*
Technics*
panasonic.net Global Home.
