Today, under the Panasonic brand, a wide variety of electronics and household appliances are produced - from toasters to cameras (under the brand Lumix). The company has long been among the top ten leaders in the global production of electrical engineering and does not intend to give up its positions in any case. However, such success was not always the case.
If we go down to the origins, we will find that the founder and ideological inspirer of the company was the Japanese businessman Konosuke Matsushita. In 1917, 24-year-old Konosuke, after working for more than 7 years at Osaka Light, decides to start his own business. For him, coming from a ruined family, this was the only way to end poverty in the end.
In a small rented apartment, Konosuke starts making plugs with his wife and brother-in-law. They work 18 hours a day, independently selling the goods they create - Konosuke personally went from door to door, offering his products. Therefore, it is not surprising that young people readily take on absolutely any orders. One of these orders once saved their situation - Konosuke was given the task of manufacturing 1000 parts for electric fans. High-quality and timely work brought the entrepreneur the first serious profit, which he immediately directed to the right thing. So the company Matsushita Electric was founded, which later will turn into the well-known Panasonic. On October 1, 2008, the company was officially renamed Ltd. Panasonic, taking the name of one of its most famous brands.
A feature of Konosuke Matsushita was that the industrious Japanese never rested on his laurels, always continuing to look for additional opportunities and innovative ways to solve certain problems. So, having once read in a popular magazine about electric headlights for bicycles, the entrepreneur got excited about the idea of releasing them. And although the market was initially skeptical of this idea, Konosuke still launched the first batch of goods for sale. The reaction was not long in coming - the bicycle lamp became so popular that people even bought it to illuminate the premises. Konosuke Matsushita immediately reacted to this - and soon the first domestic electric table lamp in Japan was released, which instantly replaced the kerosene lamps that had been used before. Together with the electric lamp, a new brand came into the world - National.
The popularity of Matsushita Electric products was so great that by the end of the 20s, Konosuke had eight factories at its disposal, where thousands of workers worked on the production of a wide variety of products - light bulbs, lanterns, bicycle lights, electric heaters, irons and more.
In 1932, Konosuke Matsushita formally formulated the purpose of the company - “Our business has been entrusted to us by society. That is why we must direct and develop our company in a way that helps to develop society and contribute to the improvement of people's lives. Apparently, it was this approach that allowed the factories of Matsushchita to survive the Great Depression and the years of the Second World War so successfully. One of the reasons why the company has survived where other corporations have ceased to exist was Konosuke's concern for employees. “Business is people,” he said. And it was this slogan that more than once helped him stay afloat even in the most difficult times.
So, when the economic crisis hit Japan in the 1930s, and other companies were forced to reduce the number of their employees, Konosuke Matsushita did not fire a single worker. He found a completely different way out of the situation. Having halved the working day of each of them, he suggested that the workers independently engage in the sale of products accumulated in the company's warehouses. For eight months, grateful hard workers sold all the deposits of goods, and the company only won.
Demand for Matsushita Electric grew every day. Moreover, in the early 50s, its founder finally decided to take the company to the world stage. Initially, it was supposed to sell its products outside the Japanese islands under the same brand - National. But, as it turned out, such a brand in the US has already been registered earlier. Something completely new had to be invented. And since the company at that time intended to rely on audio products, the name itself was born - Panasonic (this word is translated from ancient Greek as "all sound"). Later, under this brand, almost all the company's products began to be produced - from bicycles to microwaves. In the 50s, Matsushita Electric conquered the United States, Mexico and Canada, and in 1962 reached Europe. The Panasonic brand has become so recognizable that even the National electronics, intended for the domestic Japanese market, have also been renamed.
As for the Panasonic logo, it appeared in 1955 and has changed three times throughout its existence. At first, the words "Pana" and "Sonic" were written with capital letters - PanaSonic. In 1966, they were inscribed in a circle, which, in turn, was inside the capital letter “N”. And only in 1971 was the emblem already familiar to us created - a simple inscription “Panasonic” without additional elements.
In 1959, Konosuke Matsushita decided to leave the post of head of the corporation and retire. As a result of his resignation, Panasonic's influence in the electrical market has noticeably weakened. Demand for television and audio equipment grew noticeably in the 60s, and American and European manufacturers also competed with the Japanese brand. Panasonic lost in comparison with them - despite the high quality of technology, the company still used an outdated system for marketing products. After much persuasion, Konosuke Matsushita again heads the corporation. His innovative approach and managerial talent quickly brought Panasonic out of the crisis and again turned it into a leader in electronics sales.
The active development of Panasonic lasted until the mid-70s, until the 80-year-old Konosuke left his brainchild for good. Today, the company still occupies a strong position in the electrical goods market, continuing to move in the direction laid down by its founder. In recent years, thanks to Panasonic, the world has seen the first DVD writers, SD flash memory cards and more. The company is active in the field of creating new technologies. And although Konosuke Matsushita has not had the opportunity to participate in the activities of Matsushita Electric for a long time, the principles and ideas laid down by him continue to determine the vector of the company's development.
