JVC brand is about to become extinct?

Thanks to the flat screen TV fever and strong reforms, the world's number one consumer electronics group Matsushita has returned to profitability. But now, they need to find a new "hit" product and decide the fate of the JVC division that is severely losing money.

With a policy of cutting down on strong costs and booming sales from plasma TVs, Matsuhita Electric has achieved the highest profit in the last 15 years. But there are still "ulcers", weaknesses that can threaten its growth in the future.

Missing star

Source: Plasmatvbuyingguide First to mention is the lack of a "star" product, like the iPod and iTunes, for Apple Computer's business. Investors are worried about the increasing competition in the flat-panel TV market and are skeptical that large investments in digital cameras and new generation DVD players can "bear fruit".

" Digital cameras are about to be saturated. Even high-end models are under pressure of cost, which carries many risks. New-generation DVDs have no one to say for sure about their future ," Mitsushige Akino , director of investment fund management of Ichiyoshi Investment Management said. " I have not seen a product that can replace plasma on their next growth path ."

Matsushita's success in recent times has been a huge success for president Kunio Nakamura, who has implemented a series of decisions to cut staff with thousands of employees.

But in this June, Matsushia will have a new president. And investors are watching closely whether the new president Fumio Ohtsubo can find any new "growth engine".

JVC - Quit, love, and the sins

A second issue is also very interested in the fate of JVC, a well-known and familiar electronic brand for many Vietnamese consumers. The former president Nakamura always supported JVC, but the new chairman declared: Matsushita's relationship with JVC is really complicated.

" This department is both a partner and a rival of Panasonic's key products such as handheld cameras and flat-screen TVs ." Most likely, Mr. Ohtsubo will sell 52.4% of JVC shares, worth about 78 billion yen (US $ 697 million) in the near future.

This is a predictable step, because according to analysts, Matsushita does not enjoy much benefit when fully owning JVC, because there is a "harmony" between the two parties.

Previously, the biggest obstacle in Matsushita selling JVC was Nakamura president. With him returning from vacation in June, the barrier was finally removed.

Due to the sluggish demand for TVs and traditional music players, JVC's revenue has been continuously declining. During the past two years, the brand has always been at a loss and a heavy burden, restraining Matsushita's strong growth.

Headaches for cell phones

Source: Amazon Mobile phone is also a concern for Matsushita. Last year, Panasonic was forced to scale down its business in overseas markets, in stark contrast to the situation of Sony's joint venture with Ericsson - happy to enjoy the success of Walkman phones.

Hundreds of employees were cut, and the target of the mobile phone division in this fiscal year was to achieve a profit of 6 billion yen, a "dream" of unknown or not, when last year, they lost up to 8 , 4 billion yen. In addition, Matsushita cannot expect a strong growth rate, when they are only focused on the saturated domestic mobile market.

Golden hopes

The division that made Matsushita the most open-eyed plasma TV (25.8 share of the global market, far outperformed LG Electronics with 14.9%).

To reinforce its position, Matsushita will invest another 180 billion yen to build the world's largest plasma screen factory in Western Japan.

In addition, it plans to release the first lens and Blu-ray optical disc digital camera this year. However, according to analysts, these devices are difficult to become powerful money making machines with plasma TVs.

Thien Y