Panasonic abandoned plasma Shanghai plant shutdown

Bao Shibao, the guardian of the plasma, has abandoned the camp.

After shutting down the Shanghai plant, the plasma share has become smaller than liquid crystal. Changhong is still optimistic about the plasma giant Panasonic and has to shrink its plasma front for many years. Yesterday, Panasonic China confirmed to reporters that Matsushita (China) Shanghai Plasma Display Co., Ltd. has been in a state of complete shutdown.

Although Matsushita China stated that this move is aimed at achieving unified management and improving operational efficiency, the production and sales of Panasonic plasma TVs will be concentrated in Shandong Matsushita Electronic Information Co., Ltd., but not long ago, Matsushita Co. At the CES, the world’s largest consumer electronics show, Vegas, it was announced that it will relied on TV to achieve “TV Going”.

Panasonic, Samsung, LG, Hitachi, and Pioneer have allegedly been called "plasma five tigers." Except that Panasonic has been sticking to it, other companies have already withdrawn or used it only to "enrich product lines."

Today, the last fortress Matsushita showed signs of abandoning the camp. It has been an indisputable fact that the plasma has lost liquid crystals. As the plasma share is getting smaller and smaller, it is farther away from the core position of the market. Matsushita's treasure is not in charge.

Panasonic Rumors Give Up Plasma

Panasonic China stressed that it is not Panasonic's not paying attention to plasma technology, not to abandon plasma, but based on efficiency considerations. "This is to improve the efficiency of flat-panel TV operations, and through consolidation, strengthen collaboration in materials procurement, market operations, etc. to achieve unified management."

According to the data, Shanghai Panasonic Plasma Display Co., Ltd. was started and put into production in 2001. It is responsible for the production of plasma panels and the assembly of plasma TVs. Currently, the production of panels has stopped and the panels produced by the Amagasaki factory in Hyogo Prefecture in Japan have been assembled.

It is reported that Panasonic China has already left its position or arranged to work in Panasonic’s other factories in Shanghai under its own personal agreement. “Employee relocation will strictly abide by relevant Chinese laws and regulations.”

Plasma and liquid crystal as the two major technology directions of flat-panel TVs have long been confronted by the best. Around 2004, the tablet began to rise in the Chinese market, and the PK war between the two became increasingly fierce. From SD to HD, from HD to full HD, from 2D to 3D, and every technical upgrade, the two camps must be their respective The advantage shakes the banner and shouts.

At that time, Panasonic and the plasma were reciprocal characterizations, but Matsushita did not expect that in less than a decade, the plasma was pushed to the edge of the market.

Ovid Consulting's data showed that in the first week of 2013, the overall monitoring of retail sales of flat-panel electricity meters was 73 million units and 3.24 billion yuan. Among them, LCD TVs monitored sales of 701,000 units, sales of 3.11 billion yuan, and monitoring sales increased 99.8% year-on-year. PD PTV monitored sales of 29,000 units and sales of 130 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 7.6%. The data contrasted sharply and dazzlingly.

Although it continues to deny that Matsushita has abandoned the camp, news has continued. Prior to this, Japanese media reported that Matsushita planned to stop developing R&D plasma panels at the end of 2012 and will focus on R&D of O LE D panels and other promising products in the future. In response, Panasonic China stated that it has not received this information and how the business is being adjusted and is still under discussion. However, Panasonic China acknowledged that Panasonic will increase the development of non-television services.

Accelerated Plasma Degradation Inside and Outside

In the eyes of the outside world, Panasonic's abandonment of plasma seems to be only a matter of time. According to Hong Shibin, deputy director of the China Home Appliances Association’s Marketing Committee, plasma has indeed become a “passenger” for TV development, and Panasonic’s desalination of plasma is an inevitable trend. "The concept of television has changed too quickly, plasma has not finally won the market, Panasonic must also adjust."

In fact, the industry has always used liquid crystal and plasma as two technological directions, and it has not formed absolute advantages and disadvantages. The decision for the fate of plasma lies in market selection. "More and more companies have chosen LCD, and a strong marketing indoctrination also allows consumers to prefer to consume LCD."

Zhang Bing, research director of D isplaySearch in China, also stated that “according to the laws of the industry, too small a scale will cause the industrial chain to break, and some component manufacturers such as raw materials and catalysts will opt out of this industry, and the plasma industry has no hope in the future”.

In addition to industrial development factors, the status of Japanese companies has accelerated the plasma's decline. Japanese electronics companies represented by Panasonic, Sony, Sharp, etc., have fallen into sustained huge losses in the past two years, among which TV business is the main reason for their decline. This has forced Japanese companies to sell assets and increase OEMs. Previously, Panasonic also announced that it plans to sell part of its real estate and investment business at the end of March 2013 and raise 1.34 billion U.S. dollars for the purpose of repaying foreign debt.