Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. - History

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. - 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.<ref name="global"> Matsushita expands use of Panasonic brand name globally in April, 2003</ref>

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.<ref name="global" />

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. <ref>Panasonic exiting analog TV business - Engadget</ref>

On January 10, 2008 Matsushita announced that it intended to change the company name to Panasonic, effective October 1, 2008.
<ref>Matsushita to rename itself as Panasonic from October Japan Economy News & Blog - Business, Economy, Marketing and Economic Reports</ref> The switch was approved at their annual shareholders meeting on June 26, 2008. <ref name="nameswitch"/>