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It was part of a plan to make Panasonic--once one of the largest names in the business in North America--a wiry competitor once again. Panasonic in Japan had already undergone a massive overhaul.
So far, the changes in the U.S. seem to be working. Its TV sales are booming.
Yamada, who worked at Panasonic in the United States and Japan for decades, sat down with CNET News.com earlier this month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. He discussed the future of plasma TVs, Panasonic's camera drive, and why some U.S. companies just don't understand the consumer electronics market.
Q: Panasonic has undergone some massive changes in the past four years, and most of these are a mystery to U.S. readers. Can you give us a quick overview of what has happened?
Yamada: In Japan, when Mr. Nakamura became president of the company, it was 2001. (Kunio Nakamura is now CEO.) We did a major reorganization and restructuring. We changed the whole organization of the company. It was very, very painful. But it was very, very successful at the end. The change has been tremendous in the past three to four years.
When I came to the United States in July 2004, for some reason, although Panasonic Japan had changed a lot, the overseas companies had remained the same. People's minds, the way the way they ran the business--it was all the same. I was kind of shocked when I came to the United States. (Laughs.)
I worked in the United States almost throughout the '80s. In those days I felt there were many issues. But when I came back here in July 2004, I saw very similar problems almost 20 years later. People's minds and the culture had not changed at all, although a lot of the competitors in the U.S. had changed a lot. It was very strange to see.
Were there too many executives? Or was there slow decision-making?
Yamada: Really slow. (Laughs.) I met one of the executives in the (U.S.) retail channel and asked him, "What do you think Panasonic should do?" He gave me very clear direction. He said, "Panasonic is very, very slow to respond in terms of new products, in terms of new technology, in terms of the competition, in terms of business processes. Everywhere you are too slow." I was shocked, but also I was very pleased to hear it.
It was kind of a dinosaur.
How did you begin to change it?
Yamada: The first thing I tried to do was reduce layers of decision-making by reorganizing internally. It took seven or eight signatures to sign off on a project. I changed the signature procedure to a maximum of two. That automatically means reducing the number of people.
What I learned was that the most difficult thing to do is change people's mindset. They get so used to they way they do things. Even if they understand the necessity, they are resistant to changing the way they work. Still, I see it to some extent.
Do you think you are mostly through the process?
Yamada: Yes. It has been over 18 months since I've been here and most of it is done. But it took more time, much more than I thought.
What have you done to revive the Panasonic brand in the U.S.?
Yamada: The first thing we did was, on Jan. 1 of last year, we changed our company name from Matsushita Electric Company of America to Panasonic Corporation of North America. That was the first major change. The second thing is that we made it very clear what our product category focus is.
It's very simple: plasma, plasma, plasma. You saw already our booth (at CES). We have over 100 plasma displays and in the center you see 40 65-inch plasma vertical displays. And a 103-inch plasma display.
See more CNET content tagged:
Panasonic,
plasma,
decision-making,
plasma TV,
U.S.
Has that been fixed? Until it is I wouldn't think of buying a plasma.
also can limit lifetime significantly. And once the plasma tube
goes, you're left with nothing worth salvaging. Maybe the eight
generation plasma is a way of saying that they are finally getting
it right?
I like DLP, now in 10080i format, but even 720p format looks
good. No burn-in problems. Lamp is replaced every few years
for about $100. DLP chip can be replaced if needed. Excellent
picture, no visible pixel structure, fast response, etc.
LCD projection is a remote possibility- but the LCD turns blue
with time.
LCD Direct View may be a winner but, as noted, display size
limits are a problem now.
Higher brightness levels shortened the life. But at the half life
point, the plasma tube would be just noticeably not as bright as it
was originally. Visually, this is a very minor loss. So a reasonable
plasma lifetime of at least 15 years was highly probable for the
average user.
Now things may be even better. Just don't over drive the
brightness!