Panasonic 2012 Annual Report Download - page 27

15%
Profit/sales ratio
(¥1,482.9 billion)(
¥84.0 billion)
Fiscal 2012 Results (Fiscal 2011 results are in brackets)
5.3%
¥1,534.2billion
Appliances
¥81.5billion
Percentage of
Fiscal 2012 Sales Sales Segment Profit
Leveraging the latest environmental
technologies, Panasonic delivers products
and services that meet customer needs in
the homemaking, cooking, beauty & grooming
and health, cooling and heating, hot water
supply, and cold chain equipment fields.
Focusing on products that are attuned to
the unique lifestyles of each region, the
Company is accelerating its overseas
business development.
Panasonic also engages in the development,
manufacture, and sale of fuel cell cogeneration
systems, car components and devices, and
motors. Together with its BtoC activities,
the Company is expanding into BtoB fields.
In scal 2012, consumer sentiment in Japan
stalled owing to factors such as the Great East
Japan Earthquake. Thereafter, replacement
demand exhibited signs of an upswing due to
recovery and reconstruction efforts. Overseas,
conditions were mixed. While demand in
developed countries grew weak due largely to
the nancial crisis in Europe, the number of
Household Appliances/
Refrigeration, Air Conditioning
and Heating
Robust Sales in Developing Countries
Panasonic continues to emphasize sales growth
in ECO NAVI products, which automatically save
electricity depending on the mode of use. Based
on increased awareness toward saving electricity
among consumers in Japan, sales of the Company’s
washing machines grew in scal 2012.
Overseas, Panasonic marketed high
value-added products including air conditioners,
refrigerators, and washing machines equipped
with the ECO NAVI function focusing mainly on
Asia and South America. The Company is
successively releasing other products in other
regions and is further expanding sales of ECO
NAVI products.
Strong Performance by ECO NAVI Products
Panasonic constructed a facility in Kusatsu
City, Shiga Prefecture in Japan in scal 2012
for the specic purpose of engaging in
recycling-oriented manufacturing using reworked
materials. This facility manufactures glass wool
from cathode-ray tube refuse for use as a
vacuum insulation material in refrigerators.
Moreover, the Company was successful in
developing a 3D in-mold decoration technology
that enables the use of recycled plastic materials
in cosmetic applications by coating them with
Promoting Recycling-Oriented Manufacturing
as a Platform for the Manufacture of Eco-
Conscious Products
Panasonic is endeavoring to lift the ratio of
overseas sales to total sales in its household
appliances from the current level of 50% to
60% or more. To this end, the Company is
engaging in product development based on
local lifestyle research and targeting high
volume segments. Panasonic also established
the Global Marketing Planning Center in Shiga
Prefecture in April 2011. By coordinating
lifestyle research undertaken in each region to
uncover trends in demand, the Company put in
place a product planning process that is more
attuned to local needs. In popularly priced
products especially for emerging countries,
Panasonic strengthened the Company’s lineup
including air conditioners with noise reduction
and energy saving functions, and expanded
sales channels in India. The Company also
developed local models of refrigerators and
washing machines, and increased overall sales
in Brazil.
Moving forward, the Company will focus on
strengthening local production in emerging
markets. Specically, Panasonic will commence
production of air conditioners and washing
machines in India in January 2013. In addition
Toward Overseas Business Growth
purchasers in emerging countries increased on
the back of economic growth.
Under these circumstances, sales of
washing machines, refrigerators, and air
conditioners were higher than the previous
scal year in household appliances,
refrigeration, air conditioning and heating
businesses after excluding the impact of
foreign currency exchange rates. Amid the
sharp rise in raw material prices, Panasonic
focused on cutting back its overhead
expenses as well as xed costs.
to expanding facilities at the Company’s
refrigerator plant in Vietnam, plans are in place
to initiate operations at a new washing machine
plant in April 2013. Building on the current
manufacture of microwave ovens in Brazil,
Panasonic will begin producing refrigerators
and washing machines in August 2012 and
May 2013, respectively. Strengthening internal
production capabilities, Panasonic will utilize
OEM outsourcing. In this manner, it will
broaden its product lineup while tapping into
emerging markets.
Glass wool made from recycled cathode-ray tubes collected in large volumes following the termination of terrestrial analog
broadcasting. Processed as a high-performance vacuum insulation material for use in refrigerators.
Successfully producing
fine fibers to
approximately 4 μm.
Use as a vacuum
insulation material
An Example of Recycling-Oriented Manufacturing
— From Discarded CRT TVs to Vacuum Insulation Materials
Recovered cathode-ray tubes Glass melting Recycled glass wool Vacuum insulation material
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Business at a Glance Business Review and Strategies Overseas Review by Region