By Patrick Avenell in Las Vegas
In its Keynote Speech this morning at the 2013 International CES, Panasonic president Kazuhiro Tsuga today outlined its strategy to “re-energise and reinvent” Panasonic. As is common with these strategies, there are six key pillars to this process.
The first and, from a retail perspective, most important pillar is Panasonic’s television division. As a sign of Panasonic’s continued investment in this space, Tsuga unveiled what he called the “world’s first” Ultra HD OLED TV, a stunning 56-inch model that is super-thin and indicative of a new style for Panasonic AV, which has normally been focused on plasma panels.
Tsuga saved this unveil for his Keynote after yesterday not mentioning either CES buzzwords at Panasonic’s press conference.
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In the Home, Panasonic’s second pillar, the company is partnering with IBM to investigate the benefits of cloud-connected home appliances. This more precautionary approach to Smart appliances is more measured than Korean rivals LG and Samsung, both of which have been announcing Wi-Fi-enabled and smartphone controlled laundry appliances and refrigerators over the last 12 months.
In Panasonic’s well-regarded Toughbook range, Tsuga revealed a new 20-inch OLED tablet running Windows 8. This model will soon join Panasonic’s previously released Android Toughbook tablet range.
Panasonic president Kazuhiro Tsuga delivered his keynote to a packed hall at The Venetian.
In a co-announcement with American motoring giant GM, Tsuga revealed Panasonic is greatly expanding its in-car presence, both in the supply of Lithium-ion batteries to Hybrid models, such as those made by Tesla, and in ‘infotainment’. Select GM cars in 2013 will ship with a Panasonic in-dash installation that lets users download and update apps, such as TuneIn Radio, throughout the lifetime of the vehicle.
Panasonic’s greater involvement as a supplier to the automobile industry is representative of its much wider push into the Business-to-Business (B2B) market. As revenues and profits in consumer electronics suffer, Panasonic is moving into new industries to recoup these moneys. One such industry is Aviation.
Adding a Southern Hemisphere accent to the presentation, Tsuga welcomed Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe to the stage to announce that Panasonic will be fitting out the Star Alliance airline with a new in-flight entertainment system called ‘X Light’.
Panasonic is also working with United Airlines to implement greater connectivity via broadband internet on its fleet.
The final new pillar of Panasonic’s strategy is the Community. Panasonic is famous for its ‘Eco Ideas’ mantra and constantly promoting its ‘green’ credentials. As a sign of this commitment, Panasonic is moving its USA head office to a new, much more energy efficient facility in Newark, New Jersey.