Thursday, January 10, 2008

Matsushita changes name to Panasonic

Japanese conglomerate Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Japan’s second-largest technology company, has announced that it will change the company name to that of its most important commercial brand, Panasonic. The company manufactures copiers, printers, and scanners (along with product ranging from TVs to washing machines to vending machines) under the Panasonic name.

According to the company, the move stresses Matsushita’s current reality as an international company, not a narrowly Japanese one. According to an article on MarketWatch.com (“Matsushita rebrands as Panasonic, its best-known product brand”, 1/10/08): [Matsushita president] "Ohtsubo made it clear that the switch was related to perceptions of the company's brands. ‘Our brand value has unfortunately not developed as we hoped in recent years.’"

No comments: