简体中文
AvisitorwalkspastadisplayofPanasonicSmartViera4KultraHDtelevisionsatthePanasonicstandatthe53rdeditionoftheInternationaleFunkausstellungelectronicstradefairinBerlinonSept4, 2013.InChina,Panasonicisshiftingitsfocustohigh-endintelligentappliancesanddevices.[Photo/Agencies]
Iconicfirmsseekrevivalbyforayingintoawiderangeofnewbusinesssegments
TherewasatimewhenChineseconsumerswereenamoredofJapanesehomeappliancebrandssuchasSony,Panasonic,Toshiba,Sharp,SanyoandHitachi.Suchbrandsdominatedsegmentsliketelevisions,musicsystems,washingmachines,refrigerators,younameit.Notanymore.
TheriseofhomegrownChinesehomeappliancemakerssuchasHaierGroup,TCLCorpandHisenseGrouphashurtJapaneseelectronicsgiantsbadly,pushingthelatterintoareaslikehigh-endintelligenthomeappliances,business-to-businessorB2Bactivities,construction,nuclearpower,housing,automobiles,startupincubationandInternetofvehicles.
Forinstance,inJanuary,PanasonicCorpcloseditslasttelevisionproductionfactoryinChina,whichwaslocatedinJinan,capitalcityofShandongprovince.PanasonicsaiditwillinsteadoutsourceitsTVproductiontoChinesecontractmanufacturers.
InAugust,itshutafactoryinBeijingthatproduceslithium-ionbatteriesforlaptopsandsmartphones,layingoffabout1,300employees.
Thisyear,Panasonicshifteditsfocustobusinessesrelatedtoautomobiles,housingandB2Bactivities.Togainaquickentryandmarketsharethroughacquisitionoffirmsengagedinthoseareas,itsetupa1trillionyen($8.19billion)fund.
"Wehavesetagoalof10trillionyeninprofitin2018,withtheB2Bbusinessaccountingfor80percentofthetotal.FurtherdevelopmentoftheB2BfieldiskeytomovingPanasonicforward.WewillalsobecommittedtoB2BinChina,"saidHidetoshiOsawa,chairmanofPanasonicChina.
Besidesaudio-visualinformationandcommunicationtechnology,PanasonicwillprovideB2Bsolutionsforhousing,environmentalprojects,automobilesandelectricalsystems,hesaid.
Lastyear,PanasonicandTeslaMotorsInc,theUnitedStates-basedmakerofelectriccars,teameduptobuildlithium-ionbatteryfactoryintheUS.Panasonicistargetingtodoublesalesofitscarbattery-relatedbusinessto37.5billionyuan($6.47billion)in2018fromthe2014level.
In2011and2012,thecompanyreportedlossesof772.2billionyenand754.3billionyen,respectively.Thelossfromhomeapplianceswas8.5billionyeninthefirstquarterof2015.
Notunexpectedly,itlaidoffnearly10,000employeesinthepasttwoyears.Inthefirstquarterofthisyear,itsnetprofitwas59.5billionyen,upjust5.7percentyear-on-year,whichitattributedmainlytoitscar-relatedB2Bbusiness.
Asforitscorecompetenceinhomeappliances,Panasonicintendstofocusonthehigh-endsegmentofintelligentdevicesandmachinesinChina,tocatertothegrowinghigh-incomemiddleclassfamilies,saidMasanaoYamauchi,generalmanagerofPanasonicChinaAppliancesCo.
Panasonic'svisionistomakeproductsthatwouldenableconsumerstocontrol,say,electriccookersusingtheirmobilephones.
"Ouraimistoconnectdifferentsmarthomeappliancesandcreateintelligentindoorspacesforfamilies,communitiesandtowns,"saidYamauchi.
LikePanasonic,SonyCorpischasingarevivalinChina.EversinceKazuoHirai'sappointmentaspresidentandCEOin2012,thecompanyhasbeenrestructuringitself.ItsolditsVaiocomputerbusinessandspunoffitsTVdivision."Profitfromtheelectronicsbusiness,exceptthemobilephones,hasimprovedasaresultoftherestructuring,"saidHirai.
In2014,revenuewasabout$68.47billion,up5.8percentyear-on-year,andoperatingprofitwas$571million.ItsTVbusiness,nowwithfocusonhigh-endmodels,posteditsfirstprofitin11years.
"Wewillincreasesalesofhigh-endproductstoensureprofits.Wewillfocusonthepost-1980andpost-1990generationsandmiddle-classusersandcultivatenewbusinesseswithuniquetechnologies,"saidNobukiKurita,presidentofSonyChinaCoLtd.
ForSony,theChinesemarketisapriorityalongsidetheUS,hesaid.SonynowhasthreekeybusinessesinChina,includingconsumerelectronics,specializedbusinesssolutionsanddevices,saidKurita.
Inconsumerelectronics,Sony'sfocusisonvalue-addedproductslikehigh-resolution,extremelyslimtelevisionsets,andimagingproductsandsolutions,includingspecializedbroadcastingaudioequipment,projectors,digitalcinemaandB2Bbusinessinvolvingmedicalandtelecommunicationequipment,Kuritasaid.
Lastyear,SonylaunchedtheSeedAccelerationProgram,astartupincubatorthatseekstofast-trackpromisingnewbusinessideas.Theprogramhasalreadyspawnedstartupsforsmartlocks,smartwristbandsandsmartwatches.
TheJapaneseexitfromelectronicsextendedbeyondChina.ChineseTVmakerHisenseacquiredSharp'sTVfactoryinMexicoanditstelevisionbusinessfortheNorthandSouthAmericanmarkets.
Elsewhere,facedwithhugelosses,ToshibaCorpexitedTVproductionanddecidedtofocusonconstruction,nuclearpowerandinfrastructureandotherB2Bbusinesses.
Japanesegiants'effortstoremainrelevantarearesultofChineseenterprises'newlyacquiredmasteryinhomeappliancetechnologiesandcostadvantages,whichhurttheformer'sprofits,saidZhangYanbin,assistantdirectorofAllViewCloud,aBeijing-basedconsultancyspecializinginhomeappliances.Theshifttootherareas"isanecessity"anda"strategicadjustment",hesaid.
LiangZhenpeng,ananalystofconsumerelectronics,said:"Japanesecompaniesmustsimplifythedecision-makingprocess,improveoperationalefficiencyandstrengthenthetransformationtointelligentandinternet-enabledfields."
Whatisan'intelligent'orsmartappliance?
Smarthomeproductsaredevicesorappliancesthatcanbeoperated,controlledandmonitoredusingmobilephonesviaInternet.Theyusetechnologieslikecloudcomputingandbigdata,andhavethecapabilitytobeconnectedtoothersuchdevices.
