Panasonic to close its Plasma TV factory in Japan

THE Plasma TV is as good as dead, joining the VCR, Betamax and VHS tapes, Walkman, cassette tapes and the facsimile.

Panasonic TH-P50VT20A 3D Plasma TV.

PANASONIC is closing its last plasma television factory and aims to get out of the business by March next year, according to reports by Japanese business news agency Nikkei.

The closure of Panasonic's factory in Amagasaki factory is at a time when plasma TV's account for only 6 per cent of global shipments compared to 87 per cent of LCD TVs, Sky News reported.

In addition, sales of LCD televisions is expected to decline for the first time ever in the third quarter of this year as people spend their digital time on tablets, phones or PCs.

Japanese TV giants Panasonic, Sony and Sharp have lost billions of dollars in manufacturing plasma TVs.

"It wasn't just a failure of Japanese companies. It was also that rivals caught up quite fast," Kun Soo Lee, analyst at industry research firm IHS iSuppli, told Reuters.

"The Japanese companies were probably a bit sentimental, underestimated their rivals and didn't form a competitive strategy," Lee said, referring to its rivals from South Korea (Samsung and LG Corp) and Taiwan.

The first plasma TV sold to the public was by Dutch firm Phillips in 1997. The plasma TV had a 42-inch (107cm) display, with 852x480 resolution. It cost US$14,999 and included in-home installation. Phillips announced last year it was selling its TV division to Hong Kong firm TPV Technology.

Sales of cheaper LCD TVs took over from plasma in late 2006.

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Panasonic has suffered two successive years of massive billion dollar losses, with the company losing Y754.25 billion ($8.2 billion) in the past fiscal year to March. Panasonic's Amagasaki factory closes, the remaining three TV manufacturing plants in Japan will produce only LCD.

Global TV shipments dropped 6.3 per cent last year, the first time in a decade, and TV manufacturing may continue to decline.

At the Cutting-Edge IT & Electronics Comprehensive Exhibition in Tokyo, Oct. 1, Panasonic presented high-resolution tablet TVs that could have other uses.

"We are displaying 20-inch 4K tablets, which make it possible to integrate what we have seen on paper prints, picture images and movie footage," said Panasonic president Kazuhiro Tsuga. "This is a potential that 4K displays have. Manufacturers will have to widen this potential beyond televisions."

The company has not made an official announcement regarding the plant closure yet, but the move falls in line with Tsuga's strategy to cut losses by closing weak operations.

"It's not acceptable for the company to be bleeding red ink like this, so we have to think about ways to develop assets that we do have in a more effective direction," Tsuga said previously.

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