Panasonic

Panasonic is an international brand name for Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. of Japan

Under the Panasonic brand, Matsushita sells a huge range of consumer electronics, OEM electronic components, building products, industrial equipment, computers, printers, appliances, cameras, professional audio/video gear, power tools, and more.

The company was founded by Konosuke Matsushita in 1918, with its first product a duplex lamp socket. In 1927, it produced a bicycle lamp, under the brand name National.

The company operated factories in Japan and Asia through the end of World War II, producing electrical components and appliances such as light fixtures, motors, and electric irons.

After World War II, Matsushita regrouped and began to supply the post war boom in Japan with radios and appliances.

The brand Panasonic was created by Matsushita in 1955 for the US, Canada and Mexico because the National brand, which was used in Japan, was already registered by others. The Panasonic brand was created from the elements "pan" meaning "all" combined with "sonic" meaning "sound", because it was first used for audio equipment.

In 1961, Konosuke Matsushita traveled to the United States and met with American dealers and began producing television sets for the US market.

The company began opening manufacturing plants around the world. It quickly developed a reputation for reasonably-priced and reliable products.