Matsushita discards its 90-yr-old name to Panasonic

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Tokyo, October 1: : Japanese electronics giant, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. on Wednesday changed its 90-year-old name to Panasonic Corp. aimed at a "fresh start" to boost its competitiveness and brand value globally.

The name change also took effect for some of the group companies that used the names Matsushita or National.

Speaking to some three lakh employees around the world, Panasonic Corp. President Fumio Otsubo appealed to them to make a fresh collective effort to enhance its competitiveness.

"Today, we make a fresh start. The biggest purpose of the name change is to combine all employees' wisdom, mind, thoughts and power. I believe we can bring our ability into play when all group members unite under one name," Otsubo was quoted as saying by Kyodo news agency.

"Matshushita Electric and National have a great worth nurtured in the past 90 years and 80 years, respectively," he said, noting that the Osaka-based company aims to combine its accumulated value into the single name of Panasonic to boot the company's global competitiveness.

Panasonic has long been used as the firm's brand name abroad and for audiovisual appliances sold in Japan.

When it was first established in 1918 the company was known as Matsushita Electric Housewares Manufacturing Works, which was changed to Matsushita Electric Manufacturing Works in 1929.

The company used the name Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. after its incorporation as a joint stock corporation in 1935. While the company used the National and Panasonic brand names over a long period, it decided in 2003 to position Panasonic as its global brand.