Panasonic closes TV plant in China; to sell Mexican factory

Panasonic has closed its last remaining TV manufacturing factory in China and is to sell its plant in Mexico as part of a restructuring plan aimed at stemming losses, a newspaper said Saturday.

Sad. What was once one of Japan Inc's real bright spots -- the electronics sector -- is fading right before our eyes. And while closing plants in China and Mexico may not cost Japan jobs in the short-term, the continued decline fo companies like Panasonic, Sony, and Sharp cannot be anything but a cause for huge alarm.

I am a great admirer of Panasonic and Matsushita Konosuke. Not only did the company produce quality products but it also was a leader in product and manufacturing process innovation. PHP (standing for prosperity, happiness, and peace) still helps provide a degree of moral and social development through its many publications.

But ultimately Panasonic faltered in a number of areas. Its commitment to plasma screens while laudable undercut its competitiveness in LED, and it would make marvelous products like a combination washer/dryer that was supremely water and energy efficient but which was also super-expensive.

I applaud Panasonic's evolution into an energy company. Its "re-marriage" with Sanyo strengthens its play in batteries even while its venture with Tesla puts it at the cutting edge of electric automotive powering. Its play in fuel cells is also promising. I am saddened by the fading of the old Panasonic but I am somewhat optimistic about its transformation into a cutting edge mass new energy company. The Japanese government could be helpful by going with new energy, but I am afraid the nuclear zoku still exerts too much influence in the LDP.

Samsung and LG's main strength was not having a large and malleable domestic market in awe of its engineers' esoteric and over-engineered ego trips.

Tech-loving Germans embraced it, but the rest of the world saw J product as over-specced, overpriced and under-styled.

starting to see lower quality chinese sets in the US now, shame if that is the wave of the future

Be good to see if the Tesla Battery plant in Nevada can help create a turnaround.

starting to see lower quality chinese sets in the US now, shame if that is the wave of the future.

praak -- could not disagree more. First off, I bought a Chinese brand flat-screen from Best Buy two years ago just before the Super Bowl. And I was so pleased with it, that I just bought a larger one in time for this year's game. Second, all China is doing is following the Japanese model. You may not be old enough to remember, but I am, but when Japanese products first came to the U.S., they had the reputation of being cheap junk. "Made in Japan" was not a positive. The problem is not that Chinese products are "lower quality". It is that the Japanese brands have not done enough innovation to continue to demand premium pricing for the average consumer like me.

'jerseyboy' consider yourself lucky that your Chinese knockoff didn't catch fire or just fail out right. I stay away from Chinese brands because my past bosses were so damn cheap that's all they'd buy and they failed left, right and centre. Some failed with great fanfare that scared the crap out of most in the room and set off the smoke alarm. Other unit just failed to back light one day when turned on. If you think Samsung and LG are any better well they somewhat better than the Chinese but good luck getting warranty coverage with either one. Been there done that for work related units so you'd think I'd get better service than a personal use unit. Nope! Their customer service seems to think their products are perfect and it's your fault.

Yes, Japanese products are more expensive.

Yes, Japanese products tend to be over built.

YES, Japanese product last longer than Chinese and Korean models.

YES, Japanese products tend to have accurate specifications listed to help you decide which model to buy (Chinese & Korean models more often than not fudge those specs to be able to compete with the higher quality Japanese ones).

YES, Japanese products have better warranty coverage that is ACTUALLY HONOURED!!!

YES, Japanese products get my money for 'most' of those reasons and a few personal ones as well.

I think a big problem here is that it won't be until the late fall of 2015 that Ultra HD video sources start to become widely available, starting with the new 4K Blu-ray format and then 4K television broadcasts (ATSC 3.0 in the USA and Canada plus updated ISDB and DVB formats elsewhere). As such, there is no incentive yet to upgrade to an Ultra HD flat panel display yet, which is really hurting the TV manufacturers, including Panasonic, in the short term.

Japanese TV's and other electronic products are much superior to Korean and Chinese products. However, they are more expensive also and that is the same reason electronic products are no longer manufactured in North America; hard to compete against low wages. Most consumers either don't know the difference in quality or are not willing to pay more for better quality.

'jerseyboy' consider yourself lucky

Knowbetter -- I wish you had read my post more closely. I said I bought both my Chinese flkat-screens at Best Buy. So, I am not relying on the Chinese firm to honor the warranty. Which basically makes your whole rant pretty much moot. But let's quantify it:

In today's newspaper circular for Best Buy, a 50" Insignia (their in-house Chinese brand), is $349.99. A 50" Sony is $799.99. Please do not try to tell me that the average U.S. consumer sees over twice the quality/value in either the Sony product or brand.

The horse has left the barn in terms of Japanese TV's. And you can complain and moan all you want, but the market has spoken -- years ago. To the majority of U.S. consumers, Japanese brands, Korean brands, and Chinese brands are all basically the same.

Hear, hear, jerseyboy.

Too many didn't get the memo that digitalization of consumer electronics saw the cost of entry plummet, and the products, no longer mysterious magic lanterns, become mere commodities.