Panasonic Corporation (パナソニック株式会社 Panasonikku Kabushiki-gaisha), formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (松下電器産業株式会社 Matsushita Denki Sangyō Kabushiki-gaisha), is a Japanese multinationalelectronics corporation headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Japan.

The company was founded in 1918 as a producer of lightbulb sockets and has grown to become one of the largest Japanese electronics producers alongside Sony, Hitachi, Toshiba, Pioneer and Canon Inc. In addition to electronics, it offers non-electronic products and services such as home renovation services. Panasonic is the world's fourth-largest television manufacturer by 2012 market share.
Panasonic has a primary listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indices. It has a secondary listing on the Nagoya Stock Exchange.
 Name
From 1935 to October 1, 2008, the company name was "Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd." On January 10, 2008, the company announced that it would change its name to "Panasonic Corporation", in effect on October 1, 2008, to conform with its global brand name "Panasonic".The name change was approved at a shareholders' meeting on June 26, 2008 after consultation with the Matsushita family.
History
 20th History
Panasonic was founded in 1918 by Kōnosuke Matsushita as a vendor of duplex lamp sockets.In the 1920's Matsushita began regularly launching products. In 1927, he produced a line of bicycle lamps that were the first to be marketed with the "National" brand name.During World War II the company operated factories in Japan and other parts of Asia which produced electrical components and appliances such as light fixtures, motors, electric irons, wireless equipment and its first vacuum tubes.
After the war, Panasonic regrouped as a Keiretsu and began to supply the post-war boom in Japan with radios and appliances, as well as bicycles. Matsushita's brother-in-law, Toshio Iue, founded Sanyo as a subcontractor for components after World War II. Sanyo grew to become a competitor to Panasonic, but was later acquired by Panasonic in December 2009.
In 1961, Matsushita traveled to the United States and met American dealers. The company began producing television sets for the U.S. market under the Panasonicbrand name, and expanded the use of the brand to Europe in 1979.
The company used the National brand outside North America from the 1950s to the 1970s (the trademark could not be used in the United States because it was already in use).The inability to use the National brand name led to the creation of the Panasonic brand in the United States. Over the next several decades Panasonic released additional products, including black and white TV's (1952), electrical blenders, fridges (1953), rice cookers (1959), color TV's and microwave ovens(1966).
The company debuted a hi-fidelity audio speaker in Japan in 1965 with the brand Technics. This line of high quality stereo components became worldwide favorites, the most famous products being its turntables, such as the SL-1200 record player, known for its high performance, precision and durability. Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Panasonic continued to produce high-quality specialized electronics for niche markets such as shortwave radios, and developed its successful line of stereo receivers, CD players and other components.
In 1983, Matsushita launched the Panasonic Senior Partner, the first fully IBM PC compatible Japanese-made computer. In November 1990, Matsushita agreed to acquire the American media company MCA Inc. for US$6.59 billion. Matsushita subsequently sold 80% of MCA to Seagram Company for US$7 billion in April 1995.
 2000 to present
 On May 2, 2002, Panasonic Canada marked its 35th anniversary in that country by giving $5 million to help build a "music city" on Toronto's waterfront.
On January 19, 2006, Panasonic announced that it would stop producing analog televisions (then 30% of its total TV business) from the next month, in order to concentrate on digital televisions.
In 2008, all models of electric shavers from the Panasonic factory were called Panasonic shavers, and they dropped Matsushita and National from their name, regardless of worldwide or Japanese markets.
On November 3, 2008, Panasonic and Sanyo announced that they were holding merger talks, which eventually resulted in the acquisition of Sanyo by Panasonic.The merger was completed in December 2009, and resulted in a corporation with revenues of over ¥11.2 trillion (around $110 billion).
With the announcement that Pioneer would exit the production of its Kuro plasma HDTV displays, Panasonic purchased many of the patents and incorporated these technologies into its own plasma displays.
In April 2011, it was announced that Panasonic would cut its work force by 40,000 by the end of fiscal 2012 in a bid to streamline overlapping operations. The curtailment is about 10 percent of its group work force.
In October 2011, Panasonic announced that it would trim its money-losing TV business by ceasing production of Plasma TVs at its plant in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture by March 2012, cutting 1,000 jobs in the process.
In January 2012, Panasonic announced that it had struck a deal with Myspace on its new venture, Myspace TV. Myspace TV will allow users to watch live television while chatting with other users on a laptop, tablet or the television itself. With the partnership, Myspace TV will be integrated into Panasonic Viera televisions.
On May 11, 2012, Panasonic announced plans to acquire a 76.2% stake in FirePro Systems, an India-based company in infrastructure protection and security solutions such as fire alarm, fire suppression, video surveillance and building management.
In line with company prediction of a net loss of 765 billion yen, on November 5, 2012, the shares fell to the lowest level since February 1975 to 388 yen. In 2012, the shares plunged 41 percent. On November 14, 2012, Panasonic said it will cut 10,000 jobs and make further divestments.
On May 18, 2013, Panasonic announced that it would invest $40 million in building a factory in Binh Duong, Vietnam, which was completed in 2014.
In July 2013, Panasonic agreed to acquire a 13% stake in the Slovenian household appliance manufacturer Gorenje for around €10 million.
In a press release following its announcement at IFA 2013, Panasonic announced that it had acquired the "Cameramanager video surveillance service" with the intention of expanding its reach to cloud-based solutions.
In July 2014, it was announced that Panasonic has reached a basic agreement with Tesla Motors to participate in the Gigafactory, the huge battery plant that the American electric vehicle manufacturer plans to build in the U.S. In August 2014, Tesla said the plant would be built in the Southwest or Western United States by 2020. The $5 billion plant would employ 6,500 people, and reduce Tesla's battery costs by 30 percent. The company said it was looking at potential sites in Nevada, Arizona, Texas, New Mexico and California.
In October 2014, Panasonic announced its initial investment in Tesla Motors’ battery factory would amount to "tens of billions" of yen, according to the firm's CEO.
In November 2014, Panasonic announced its partnership with Photon Interactive to create customized and personalized digital signs in stores.
In January 2015, Panasonic announced it has stopped making TVs in China and plans to liquidate its joint venture in Shandong.
In March 2015, Panasonic announced plans to buy Houston-based satellite communication service provider ITC Global.
In April 2015, Panasonic announced its new range of products and relaunched its brand in South Africa. The company intends to use South Africa as a springboard into Africa, with Nigeria and Egypt as its initial targets.
In June 2015, Panasonic struck agreements with three Australian energy utilities (Red Energy, Ergon Energy and ActewAGL) to trial its home-based battery storage options.
In November 2015, the Panasonic Corporation announced that it set up a new plant in Suzhou, China, through its subsidiary, Panasonic Ecology Systems Co., Ltd, to produce a new type of catalyst-coated diesel particulate filter (DPF) that decomposes matter contained in diesel engine exhaust gas.
In November 2015, Panasonic Corporation start to retail locally harvested produce from its indoor agriculture facility salads via Veggie Life branding in Singapore, from the very first licensed indoor vegetable farm in the country using Panasonic's own technology.
In February 2016, Panasonic and the City of Denver formed a formal partnership to make Denver the "smartest" city in America. Joseph M. Taylor, Chairman and CEO of Panasonic Corp. of America, laid out the plans for the partnership in four key areas: smart housing and small offices, energy and utilities, transportation and city services and smart buildings.
Due to increased competition from China, Panasonic's LiIon auto market share decreased from 47% in 2014 to 34% in 2015 In June 2016, Tesla Motors, Inc. announced that Panasonic Corporation would be the exclusive supplier of batteries for its mass market vehicle Model 3. Batteries for the higher-end Model S sedan and Model X SUV will also be supplied by Panasonic. In early 2016 Panasonic president Kazuhiro Tsuga confirmed a planned total investment of about $1.6 billion by the company to construct the Gigafactory to full capacity. However, after the number of Model 3 reservations became known in April,Panasonic moved production plans forward and announced a bond sale for $3.86 billion, most of it to be invested in Gigafactory.
In 2016, it debuted its transparent TV.
In August 2018, the company announced, in order to avoid potential tax issues Panasonic will move its European headquarters from the UK to Amsterdam in October as Brexit approaches.
On 25 September 2018, Panasonic became one of the founding members of the L-Mount Alliance, and announced two full-frame mirrorless cameras and a range of L-Mount lenses to be launched in 2019. The 47-megapixel Panasonic Lumix S1R and the 24-megapixel Panasonic Lumix S1 will be the first mirrorless cameras produced by Panasonic and will offer the Lumix Pro support service for professional photographers. These cameras will also be equipped with Dual Image Stabilization technology to help photographers when shooting in low-light.
Current Operations
As of March 31, 2012, Panasonic employed about 330,000 staff and had around 580 subsidiary companies. Panasonic had total revenues of ¥7,846,216 million in 2012, of which 53 percent were generated in Japan, 25 percent in Asia (excluding Japan), 12 percent in the Americas and 10 percent in Europe.
Panasonic's operations are organised into three broad "business fields" – Consumer, Solutions and Components & Devices – and nine "domain companies" – AVC Networks (which generated 17% of Panasonic's total 2012 revenues), Eco Solutions (15% of revenues), Appliances (15% of revenues), Industrial Devices (14% of revenues), Systems and Communications (8% of revenues), Automotive Systems (7% of revenues), Energy (6% of revenues), Healthcare and Manufacturing Solutions.
Panasonic invested a total of ¥520,216 million in research and development in 2012, equivalent to 6.6 percent of its revenues in that year.As of March 31, 2012, Panasonic held a total of 140,146 patents worldwide.
In July 2016, it was reported that Panasonic is now looking at making acquisitions in the artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning space. According to a source, the company has put aside $10 million for use in either an acquisition or joint venture.
Brand Names
 Panasonic Corporation sells virtually all of its products and services worldwide under the Panasonic brand, having phased out the Sanyo brand in the first quarter of 2012. The company has sold products under a number of other brand names during its history.
In 1927, the company founder adopted the brand name "National" (ナショナル Nashonaru) for a new lamp product. In 1955, the company began branding audio speakers and lamps for markets outside Japan as "PanaSonic", which was the first time it used the "Panasonic" brand name. The company began to use the brand name "Technics" (テクニクスTekunikusu)" in 1965 for audio equipment. The use of multiple brands lasted for some decades.
In May 2003, the company announced that "Panasonic" would become its global brand, and launched the global tagline "Panasonic ideas for life." The company began to unify its brands to "Panasonic" and, by March 2004 replaced "National" for products and outdoor signboards, except for those in Japan. In January 2008, the company announced that it would phase out the brand "National" in Japan, replacing it with the global brand "Panasonic" by March 2010. In September 2013, the company announced a revision of the decade-old tagline to better illustrate the company vision: "A Better Life, A Better World."
Rasonic is a brand name of Shun Hing Electric Works and Engineering Co. Ltd (信興電工工程有限公司), a company that has imported Panasonic and National branded product since Matsushita Electric Industrial era, and has also sold MEI/Panasonic products under the original brand names. In June 1994, Panasonic Shun Hing Industrial Devices Sales (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd. (松下信興機電(香港)有限公司) and Panasonic SH Industrial Sales (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (松下電器機電(深圳)有限公司) were established by joint venture between Matsushita Electric Industrial and Shun Hing Group respectively,making Rasonic a product brand for MEI and subsequent Panasonic Corporation.
In September 2014, Panasonic announced they will revive the Technics brand.

Credit Text Wikipedia