Japan Panasonic faces restructuring, assessing that the brand name will remain unchanged

Japan's Panasonic Holdings Corporation announced a restructuring plan, including the dissolution of Panasonic Corporation for a split, raising speculation about whether the brand name will become a thing of the past. However, the company stated that "the brand is an important asset," and experts believe the brand name will remain unchanged. According to a report by the Nikkei, the Japanese multinational electronics manufacturer Panasonic Holdings Corporation announced on February 4 that it will undergo a group restructuring. The core content includes dissolving Panasonic Corporation, which handles home appliances, air conditioning, and lighting businesses, within the fiscal year 2025 (from April 2025 to March 2026), splitting it into several companies, and reviewing the sale or downsizing of its television business. Panasonic Holdings Corporation hopes to accelerate decision-making processes and achieve performance growth by splitting its largest business company. According to Panasonic Holdings Corporation's restructuring plan, the company will be divided into three entities: "Smart Living" (tentative name) responsible for home appliances, "Air Quality Air Conditioning and Food Distribution" (tentative name) responsible for air conditioning products, and ElectricWorks (tentative name) responsible for lighting products. Panasonic Holdings Corporation President Yoshiki Nakamine mentioned during an online press conference on February 4 regarding the television business, "Although we are prepared for a sale, we have not decided to sell." Nakamine also stated, "Currently, we believe there are no companies willing to acquire, so we will consider various options," and did not rule out the possibility of choosing to sell the television business in the future. According to a survey by the British research firm Omdia, based on shipments in the first half of 2024, Panasonic holds a 12.8% market share in Japan's flat-screen television market. Due to the rise of Chinese competitors, Panasonic's presence has diminished compared to around 20% market share in 2010. TBS reported on February 4 that Nakamine stated, "As for whether to keep the Panasonic name, there have been no discussions on this matter yet." The current restructuring plan is to split Panasonic into different fields and then establish new business companies. As for the television business, which is not expected to grow, there is a possibility of exiting or selling. In response to reports from Japanese media, Panasonic Holdings Corporation issued a statement on February 4, stating, "Regarding the business issues, including the television business, we are evaluating all possibilities for a fundamental transformation of our revenue structure, but it is not true that we have decided to sell or withdraw at this stage." Furthermore, Panasonic Holdings Corporation clarified in a written statement on its official website on February 5 that the restructuring announced on February 4 pertains to Panasonic Corporation and not the dissolution of the entire group. The statement also noted, "The Panasonic brand is an important operational asset of the group, and the Panasonic group will continue to reform its corporate structure based on this important brand to contribute to consumers and society in the future." Japanese financial columnist Nobuhiro Yokoyama pointed out that although the term "Panasonic dissolution" has sparked discussions, the direction of this restructuring is to dissolve Panasonic Corporation and split it into several companies. Yokoyama stated that the Panasonic Group underwent significant organizational reform in April 2022, resulting in the current Panasonic Holdings Corporation, which adopted a system that moved multiple business companies under its umbrella. However, Yokoyama mentioned that the reforms at that time did not yield results. Compared to Sony Group's total market value of approximately 22 trillion yen and Hitachi's total market value of about 19 trillion yen, Panasonic Holdings Corporation's total market value is only about 4 trillion yen, clearly falling behind its competitors, which necessitated further reform. He said that the target for dissolution is Panasonic Corporation, which holds a core position in the group, and it is currently anticipated that it will be split into three companies in the future. Through structural reform, the goal is to achieve a profit improvement of approximately 300 billion yen. Therefore, Yokoyama believes that both Panasonic Holdings Corporation and the Panasonic brand name should be retained in the future, as the Panasonic brand, which has been used in various products such as home appliances and residential equipment, is an extremely important asset for the entire group