(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Matsushita Electric Industrial will become Panasonic, shedding the name of its charismatic founder in favor of its more internationally known brand.
The move, coming 90 years after the Osaka-based company's founding by Konosuke Matsushita, underlines the recognition of brand power amid intensifying global competition.
Matsushita president Fumio Ohtsubo acknowledged he had mixed feelings, but the change will bring more value to the company than nostalgia would.
'We must create more than what we are giving up,' he said.
The name change was approved at a board meeting and will become effective October 1, pending approval at a shareholders' meeting in June.
Matsushita, which makes a wide range of gadgets including flat-panel TVs, digital cameras and car navigation equipment, has been mulling changing its name to Panasonic for some time to avoid consumer confusion.
The company will also drop its local brand, National, for products such as rice cookers, washing machines and refrigerators, by March 31, 2010.
Brand power is increasingly critical.
A rapid decline in prices for gadgets has hurt profits, and consumers tend to be willing to pay more for products from companies with strong reputations like Sony and Panasonic.
Konosuke Matsushita's rags-to-riches story and humanitarian views have been the pillar of his namesake company.
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