Panasonic aims to be a solution technology firm in coming years

Home appliance and consumer electronics maker Panasonic India is aiming to position itself as a "solution technology company" in the coming years rather than being a product company, a top company official said.

Panasonic India, a subsidiary of Japan-based Panasonic Corporation, has identified five pillars to drive growth, which includes - growing consumer business, developing solutions for living spaces, coming out with products and technology solutions in the supply chain segment and expanding energy business.

As part of its strategy, Panasonic is expecting an increased push from its consumer durable business in its revenue in the coming years along with a special focus on its solutions business which may contribute almost one-fourth of its B2B business in the next five years.

Panasonic India, which is expecting a revenue of Rs 12,000 crore this fiscal, would also expand its retail footprint focusing tier-III & -IV places and introduce products catering those small markets with local R&D push as per its strategy.

"We would expand our portfolio of appliances dramatically and rapidly. Currently within the consumer durable business, half of the revenue comes from electronics and the other half from appliances. In the next three years, 65 per cent of this would come from appliances," Panasonic India President & CEO Manish Sharma said.

Products such as TV, audio products, AV accessories come under electronic segments, while appliances include refrigerator, AC, washing machine etc.

"We are looking to double our appliances revenue in three years. TV business would not double but it may continue to grow in line with the market growth," Sharma said adding "TV would continue to be our identity. This would not change."
"If you look Panasonic today, outsiders feel that this is a company which makes TV, appliances and those kinds of products. The transformation, which is going to happen ... we would become a solutions technology company from being a product company. Of course, it would make many years but we would move towards that in the next five years time, we are considering that 25 per cent of our b2b revenue, should come from solutions business."