(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-01-10 16:25

TOKYO - Japanese electronics maker Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. will drop the founder's name and adopt the brand name Panasonic as the company name, public broadcaster NHK TV reported Thursday.

Angelika Simma, left, of Austria, poses for photos with Panasonic's 150-inch plasma television in the background as Geoff Holman introduces the display at the Panasonic booth at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Monday, Jan. 7, 2008. [Agencies]

A company official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Matsushita President Fumio Ohtsubo will address the matter at a news conference later in the day, where he is outlining the company strategy for the fiscal year. He declined to elaborate.

The reported decision marks a dramatic shift for the manufacturer founded in 1918 by Konosuke Matsushita, widely respected in Japan for his managerial, manufacturing and political thinking.

The move signals the importance of brand recognition amid intensifying global competition - and seems to make sense given that the Osaka-based company is far better known outside Japan as Panasonic, one of its brand names, than Matsushita.

The company also has a local brand, National, for products such as rice cookers, washing machines and refrigerators. NHK said that brand will also be discontinued.

The company has been mulling changing the company's name to Panasonic for some time to avoid consumer confusion.

Konosuke Matsushita's rags-to-riches story and humanitarian views have been the pillar of the company.

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