When was the Panasonic group founded?

When was the Panasonic group founded?

Analyzing the history of a 100-year-old company has a lot to cover. Over the 100 years of its existence, Panasonic saw itself rise and fall along with the socio-economic changes. Nevertheless, it managed to live through the worst economic conditions and post-war conditions. Here we will see When was the Panasonic group founded?

Birth

Panasonic Corporation’s roots trace back to 1918 by a 23-year-old Japanese man- Konosuke Matsushita. The account of the history of Panasonic is incomplete without the acknowledgment of this man’s works and the role he played in making Panasonic the global corporation it is today. 

The first seeds of Panasonic were sowed in a tiny apartment house where Matsushida first started his work on sockets along with his wife and her younger brother. His small manufacturing company didn’t see success right away, owing to which Matsushita and his family had to fight for their survival. However, their misfortunes ended when they received an order of a thousand insulator plates for electric fans. 

Before starting his company, Matsushita already had a secured job. Still, he left the job reminiscing his father’s words, who had encouraged him to be an entrepreneur and followed his heart. 

Early success

His business slowly started to rise, and to expand it, he bought a two-story building which would be his workshop. The venture, which started with only three of them, soon grew to 20 employees by 1918. His company steadily earned the reputation of providing high quality at low prices. He then went on to design another of his success models- the bullet-shaped bicycle lamp. 

In 1929, Konosuke created the Basic Management Objective, represented by Panasonic modern era “A Better Life, A Better World.” 

During the 1920s Great Depression, the radio started to gain popularity, but most radios at that time were either expensive or unreliable; hence when Matsushita designed his three-tube model, it won everyone’s hearts.  

In July 1933, he expanded his business and moved to a new factory in Japan with its head office in current Kadoma near Osaka. 

Hardships

The war period lasted from the Pacific War in 1937 till the end of World War II In 1945. The war period forced a shift of the company’s manufacturing from consumer goods to military goods. The result of which wasn’t so sweet. Panasonic suffered huge losses; it lost its factories and offices and had to predominately rebuild itself. 

After the end of the war, Matsushita sensed the problems that lay ahead. He knew that the end of the war didn’t mean an end to their hardships. He addressed his employees on multiple occasions to encourage them to continue the company’s manufacturing. Despite these efforts, the company still saw a huge reduction in staff members. 

However, this was just the start of their newly found problems. In the post-war period, when Panasonic was planning to resume normal production, it was labeled as a zaibatsu (a family-controlled industrial and financial combine), and directives were issued to have the company dissolved. The company fought hard for four years, and finally, by the end of 1950, the government had lifted the directives levied upon the company. 

 In the late 1940s, they had to fight against tight measures of the government during inflation. In addition, they had to fight off the government’s ‘Dodge plan,’ which cut off government spending, which came off as a huge blow to the company and other businesses. Although they tried their best to cope, they still faced huge losses and lay off many of their employees. 

Further growth of the company

After the hardship, years were over, and the company re-stabilized itself, Matsushita looked upon improvising on its products and expanding its market. Upon his visit to the US in 1951, he saw the differences between the USA and Japan. He understood that they needed to improvise and develop their products further and work on their technology to conquer the world market. This led to the alliance between Phillips and Panasonic. 

After analyzing the US market, Matsushita discovered that design is a key part of the business. Hence, he went on to establish the Product Design Section of Matsushita Electric’s Advertising Department. 

In the following years, Matsushita contributed more to the company’s growth, even after retiring as a President, and finally, in 1989, at the age of 94, he departed the world. 

After Matsushita

Even after the death of its founder-father, Panasonic continued to be led by its competent leaders. In 2008, the company changed its name to “Panasonic Corporation” and unified the corporate brand under “Panasonic” worldwide. Although in China, it’s still used as Matsushita. 

In 2018, Panasonic completed its 100th anniversary as it continues to grow as a world-leading global enterprise. 

When was the Panasonic group founded?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to top