Matsushita seeks to boost strategic product sales, cut more costs
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Japanese consumer electronics giant Matsushita Electric Industrial said it will increase sales of "strategic" products and further cut costs in coming years.
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Japanese electronics maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Thursday it will drop the name of its charismatic founder and become Panasonic Corp. to strengthen its global image.
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Matsushita Electric Industrial Co   and Hitachi Ltd  are discussing multi-billion  dollar deals on flat panels that could reshape an industry hit  by fierce competition, a source familiar with the matter said.
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The company plans to recoup by raising its commission on items that sell.
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Japanese electronics firm looks to expand agreements with Wal-Mart, Costco to boost total sales. TOKYO  - Japan&#39;s Sony Corp.
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Panasonic brand products maker Matsushita Electric Industrial unveiled five new DVD recorders on Wednesday and said it was aiming to boost its share of the domestic market to over 40 percent from around 35 percent.
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TOKYO -- Toyota yesterday outlined an ambitious plan to boost global sales to 9.8 million vehicles in 2008 -- driving home a message of stellar success as its troubled US rivals close plants and scale back production.
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Cost-cutting efforts should help turn the company around in 2008.
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Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.  reported a 5 percent rise in quarterly profit, driven by robust sales of flat TVs, but it kept its full-year operating profit outlook that falls short of market expectations.
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Team plans a greater focus on customers and partners and an improved product alignment across the company's internal business operations.
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Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.  said on Monday it aims to mass-produce spark-resistant batteries, eyeing a potential sales opportunity following incidents involving rivals' battery packs.
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Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial   Co. 6752.T said on Wednesday it would start selling two new   Blu-ray DVD recorders in Japan on November 15, heating up a   format battle for next-generation optical disc technology.
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Kimberly-Clark Corp. said Monday it aims to cut costs by $400 million to $500 million over the next three years, and plans to boost its dividend by 12.5 percent and repurchase at least $1 billion in stock during 2005.
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A new initiative seeks to improve old products.
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A partnership with Mitsubishi Heavy raises some interesting scenarios.
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(InfoWorld) - Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (Panasonic) is refreshing itsÂ Toughbook rugged laptop PC lineÂ and aiming for a big jump in international sales of the computers over the next three years. The company, already a leader in the rugged PC market, aims to ship 7.5 times more rugged PCs outside Japan by 2010 than it did in 2006, said Toshiyuki Takagi, director of the IT product division and Panasonic's AVC Networks division, at a Tokyo news conference. In Europe it is aiming for a ten-fold increase in shipments. The new 7-series machines, aimed at corporate users, are beefier than the current 5-series machines and can survive a fall from a greater height. The new models can be dropped from 76 centimeters -- the height of an average desk -- while switched on and still work, according to Panasonic. Its current Toughbook models for the corporate PC market are rated for a 30 cm drop but only when switched off. The 76-cm claim was backed up at the news conference as the laptops were dropped numerous times without any problem. Panasonic also demonstrated a new irrigation system in the keyboard that can funnel water through the machine and out of a drain hole in the base. It can handle up to 200 milliliters of water -- about the amount in a medium-sized glass -- without the PC experiencing any problems. The four new laptops -- one of which will be available in Japan only -- are based on Intel's Santa Rosa platform, which combines a processor, chip set, and wireless adapter. They have double the memory of their predecessors, at 1GB, and the hard-disk capacity is one-third larger, at 80GB, than in the previous models. They all include 802.11 a/b/g wireless LAN but the new 802.11n variant is not supported. The Japan-only CF-R7 has a 10.4-inch screen with 1,024 pixels by 768 pixels (XGA) resolution but no optical drive. It will be launched on Oct. 19 and will cost about Â¥205,000 ($1,780). The CF-T7 has a 12.1-inch XGA screen and will be launched in Japan on Oct. 19. It will cost Â¥220,000. The CF-W7 adds a DVD Super-multi drive to the mix and will go on sale in Japan on Nov. 16 for around Â¥250,000. Finally, the high-end CF-Y7 has a 14.1-inch screen with 1,400 pixels by 1,050 pixels (SXGA) resolution and the DVD Super-multi drive. It will launch on Oct. 19 and will cost about Â¥270,000. The CF-T7, CF-W7 and CF-Y7 will be launched in Europe on Nov. 27. The CF-W7 will cost â¬1,950 ($2,760), the CF-T7 will have a â¬2,100 price tag and the CF-Y7 will be â¬2,170. North American and Asian prices are yet to be announced. Launch dates will be around the same time as those in Europe.
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By Kyodo News International, Tokyo  Feb. 1--TOKYO -- Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. revised upward  Thursday its earnings forecast for the current business year on brisk sales of  flat-panel TVs, saying its group sales are now expected to hit an all-time  high of 9 trillion yen.