Panasonic Targets 40M Handsets by '06
According to Teruo Katsura, Managing Director and Member of the Board of Panasonic Mobile Communications Co. Ltd, (PMC), Panasonic is targeting a1 trillion yen, in sales and 40 million handset production schedule for 2006, and is aiming at an 8% global market share in terms of terminal shipments by 2006. Speaking at a strategic briefing today, Katsura said that PMC wants to boost its sales 250% of its 2003 levels and hit GSM hard in Asia in particular.
Katsura told reporters on Monday (Feb. 16) that Panasonic Mobile Communicatons is going to make a strong push into GSM and foreign markets, although, as readers of the Viewpoint on this subject will know, the company is not seeking to go toe-to-toe with companies such as Nokia in Europe.
The overall strategy is to boost the unit quantity of FOMA and GSM phones to 75% of Panasonic’s production, from about 55% percent now.
“The Japanese market is only about 40 million handsets. If we open our eyes, we know we should utilize [i.e. take advantage of the growing market for] GSM,” said Bob Morioka, Managing Director of PMC’s Overseas Mobile Terminal Division.
In Japan, while not ignoring PDC, Panasonic has made it clear that it is going to focus more resources on W-CDMA. From this base, Katura said, Panasonic is developing the platform technologies needed to go just about anywhere in the international market.
Bob Morioka strongly hinted that Panasonic’s big play is going to be in China and Asia, where the Panasonic brand is already appreciated for its quality.
“Samsung has spent very heavily and invested huge amounts of money in developing its technologies and brand. It’s taken them 5 years,” Morioka said. On the other hand, Panasonic products and reputation are already in place, he said.
Panasonic is developing a series of “V” products that will be the products platform side. “V” not as in victory, but V as in V-shape recovery, we are told. These products are expected to generate about 220 billion yen in sales globally from three series of the products, we are told.
— The Editors.