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.
Особенностью Коносукэ Мацущиты являлось то, что трудолюбивый японец никогда не останавливался на достигнутом, всегда продолжая искать дополнительные возможности и инновационные пути решения тех или других проблем. Так, прочитав однажды в популярном журнале про электрические фары для велосипедов, предприниматель загорелся идеей их выпускать. И хоть рынок поначалу и отнесся скептически к этой идее, Коносукэ все-равно запустил в продажу первую партию товара. Реакция не заставила себя долго ждать – велосипедный фонарь приобрел настолько большую популярность, что люди приобретали его даже для освещения помещений. Коносукэ Мацущита тут же среагировал на это — и вскоре была выпущена первая в Японии домашняя электрическая настольная лампа, которая мгновенно вытеснила лампы керосиновые, которые использовались до этого. Вместе с электрической лампой в мир пришел и новый бренд – 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.
В 1932 году Коносукэ Мацущита официально сформулировал цель компании — «Наше дело было поручено нам обществом. Вот почему мы должны направлять и развивать нашу компанию так, чтобы помогать тем самым развиваться и обществу, способствуя улучшению жизни людей». Видимо, именно этот подход и позволили фабрикам Мацущиты столь удачно пережить и Великую Депрессию, и годы Второй Мировой Войны. Одной их причин, почему компания выжила там, где другие корпорации прекращали свое существование, стала забота Коносукэ о работниках. «Бизнес – это люди», говорил он. И именно этот слоган не раз помогал ему оставаться на плаву даже в самые нелегкие времена.
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.
В 1959 году Коносукэ Мацусита принял решение покинуть пост главы корпорации и отправиться на покой. В результате его отставки влияние Panasonic на рынке электротоваров заметно ослабло. Спрос на теле- и аудиоаппаратуру в 60-х годах заметно вырос, и конкуренцию японской марке составили также американские и европейские производители. Panasonic проигрывал по сравнению с ними — несмотря на высокое качественно техники, компания все еще пользовалась застаревшей системой сбыта продукции. После долгих уговоров Коносукэ Мацусита вновь возглавляет корпорацию. Его новаторский подход и талант управленца быстро вывели Panasonic из кризиса и вновь превратили в лидера по продажам электроники.
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.
