Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.--which was launched in 1918 and named after its charismatic founder--officially became Panasonic Corp. today. The move signals the importance of brand recognition
amid intensifying global competition, and makes sense given that Matsushita is far better known outside Japan as Panasonic, one of its brand names.
Matsushita President Fumio Ohtsubo
acknowledges that it's tough to give up the Matsushita and other brand names the company has built with consumers and employees for 90 years. But he says the value of the Panasonic brand has suffered
because the company stuck with the old name.
Konosuke Matsushita's rags-to-riches story and humanitarian views have been the pillar of the company. Ohtsubo says the decision to change the
company name was relayed last month to members of the Matsushita family still holding positions in the group's companies. "Rather than festering in nostalgia," they welcome the decision as a plus for
the company's future.
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