Making Group-wide Efforts to Stay Close to Customers and Promote Technological Innovations That Solve Their Problems: Yuki Kusumi, Group CEO, Panasonic Holdings Corporation

Technology is a key source of competitiveness for the Panasonic Group. I think technology can be roughly classified into two types. One is technology that makes possible what was not possible before. An iconic example of this type is the Pepper ultra-thin radio, which was the first to use surface-mount technology in its circuitry and was put on the market in 1977. Although I say it myself, I think another exemplar is the DIGA Blu-ray Disc recorder I worked on, released in 2007, since it enabled long hours of digital high-definition recording ahead of our competitors through the adoption of a 45-nm process system LSI.

The other type is technology that makes products and services more widely available at unprecedentedly low prices. A classic example of this is the Super Electric Iron, which was launched with a strong commitment to achieving both high quality and a low price. It was designated an outstanding Japanese-made product through repeated efforts to reduce costs. Recently, we have been working to increase cost competitiveness by leveraging our technological strengths in consumer electronics, electronic components, and automotive devices in China, which I will discuss in more detail later.

Historically and still today, businesses that have achieved unmatched market share, that is, businesses that help customers live their best, have harnessed highly competitive technologies that enable functions, performance, and prices that satisfy their customers. In particular, businesses that are overwhelmingly competitive have advanced their technologies by anticipating their customers' future problems and potential challenges. Panasonic Avionics Corporation's Astrova is a prime example. I believe the key to developing such technology is to stay close to customers' problems while working patiently and not giving up in the long run.