What They Say
Kyodo News in Japan reported that Panasonic is thinking about closing its TV production plants in India and Vietnam and switching to TCL as an OEM supplier. A factory north of Tokyo, in Tochigi Prefecture would continue to make OLED TVs and other products. The firm is reported to have lost $92 million on its TV business in fiscal 2019, although it is expected to have got back into the black in the year to March 2021.
The Nikkei put Panasonic in 12th place with 1.8% global market share, quoting Omdia as a source, down from 10% a few years ago.
What We Think
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Panasonic move further to an ODM business model. The company has good video processing but is closing its LCD business, which hasn’t made TV panels for a while. I’ve had Panasonic TVs for a few years now, because of the image quality, but a recent report suggested that good ‘Smart’ functions are the most important feature now for many buyers and despite its head start in this area, Panasonic’s interfaces have never been their big strength. (BR)
