On April 1, 2024 Panasonic Group will start a new phase of its plan to strengthen its imaging business and achieve high growth, by transfering the Professional AV business and Panasonic Visual Co., Ltd. from Panasonic Connect to Panasonic Entertainment & Communication. The decision to make the change was announced this month.
Panasonic Connect Co., Ltd. , founded on April 1, 2022, with approximately 29,500 employees (Japan 13,400 Overseas 16,100) as of April 1, 2023, is responsible for development, manufacture and sale of devices, and provision of solutions, including system integration, installation, maintenance and repair services for the supply chain, public service, infrastructure, and entertainment sectors.
Panasonic Entertainment & Communication Co., Ltd. (PEAC), founded on the same date (April 1, 2022) has approximately 10,100 employees (Japan 2,100 Overseas 8,000) as of April,2023 and is responsible for AVC products including OLED TVs, Lumix digital cameras, headphones, phones, intercoms, and other products.
To justify the transfer Panasonic says that “in recent years, the imaging market has seen increased demand, particularly for mirrorless digital cameras, due to the expansion of video production for solo creators. While on the other hand, the professional video production market, such as cinema and broadcast production, is also growing, and due to the increasing size of sensors in mirrorless digital cameras and tighter budgets for production the lines between consumer and professional video production markets are quickly blurring.”
Furthermore, according to Panasonic, “in the field of live broadcast and video streaming, there is an increasing demand for diverse video shooting and streaming equipment that satisfies the requirements of video creators and caters to improved video and audio quality, as well as advancements in visual expression.”
The company believes that “in the future, there is expected to be further integration of consumer and professional video production and live-video streaming, leading to the continued growth of the imaging market.”
Both companies have determined that in response to this trend, there is a need to bridge the divide between professional and consumer uses in order to provide timely and consistent support throughout the entire process from video shooting to editing and streaming, while developing products and services that exceed the expectations of video creators. To achieve this, the imaging related businesses spanning both companies will be integrated into one organization within the Panasonic Group.
As a result, Panasonic adds, “the Group’s resources in this market will be consolidated within Panasonic Entertainment & Communication, which will make the imaging business a pillar of its growth strategy and strengthen its ability to adapt to market changes and respond quickly to the needs of a diverse range of video creators.”