OSAKA, Japan -- Panasonic Corp. has announced its plan to establish a Global Consumer Research Center in its head office in Osaka by the end of March 2011, aiming to enhance its capability to design and develop products that meet with local needs.

Panasonic said it intends to become the No. One Green Innovation Company in the electronics industry by 2018, as well as to implement a business paradigm shift for growth under its new mid-term management plan called GT12 that covers the next three years from April 2010 to March 2013. As part of its efforts to shift its business from Japan-centric to globally-oriented, Panasonic focuses on the high-volume segments in emerging markets. It is crucial for the company to strengthen customer-oriented products planning capability by carrying out accurate assessments of various lifestyles and customs.

Lifestyle Research Centers

To realize stronger products planning capability, Panasonic will promote research for various lifestyles and customs by establishing lifestyle research centers in key emerging markets such as India and Brazil. In addition, the new Global Consumer Research Center in Japan is expected to play a central role among the lifestyle research centers all around the world. By sharing the knowledge of customers' needs and tastes gained from its research in various markets, Panasonic strives to pursue further efficiencies and achieve an optimized approach for utilizing its management resources to enhance its capability to develop and design products and to create new markets.

The lifestyle research centers are intended to assess the rapidly changing customers' needs and tastes in emerging markets and to have them efficiently reflected in marketing initiatives. Most importantly, the acquired data will also be used by the lifestyle research hub, the Global Consumer Research Center, in combination with knowledge and resources in Japan to assess an optimized balance between local standards and global standard. As a result, enhanced standardization of products for emerging markets can be achieved through these initiatives.

Panasonic strives to create innovations in manufacturing all around the world based on the research of regional lifestyles and customs to further expand overseas business at an accelerated pace. The expansion will enhance product development of high-volume segment and thereby new markets will be created.