Panasonic

Panasonic is a Japanese electronics manufacturer headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. Konosuke Matsushita founded it in 1918 as Matsushita Electric Housewares Manufacturing Works, and it was incorporated in 1935 as Matsushita Electric Industrial. Its earliest products included radios, electric irons and bicycle lamps under the National brand, and by 1950 it was known for black-and-white televisions and transistor radios. The Panasonic name was first used for export markets in 1955, and the Technics audio brand followed. In the late twentieth century it overtook Philips as the world's largest consumer electronics maker, and from 1990 to 1995 it owned the media company MCA Inc. It took the name Panasonic Corporation in 2008 and became the holding company Panasonic Holdings Corporation in 2022.