AFP
Japans electronics giant Panasonic unveils a prototype model of a hair-washing machine that makes 3D scanning of the users head, shampoos and massages with 16 fingers at the annual Home care and Rehabilitation exhibition in Tokyo on September 30, 2010. Panasonic is expecting to put it on the market in 2012.
TOKYO, KOMPAS.com - Panasonic Corp. (6752.TO) aims to boost worldwide washing machine sales in fiscal 2012 30% from fiscal 2009 by expanding its lineup of products priced for middle-income households in emerging countries, the Nikkei Business Daily reported in its Friday edition.
The firm targets sales of 5.3 million units in the year ending March 2013. In China, the company introduced a vertical washing machine in April priced at less than 1,500 yuan, or around Y20,000.
Most of its washing machines in the past have been high-end models priced from 1,500 yuan to 2,000 yuan, but models priced at less than 1,500 yuan account for 40% of demand. It aims to boost its market share in the lower price range to 8% in fiscal 2012, from just 2% in fiscal 2009.
In India, Panasonic will begin operating a washing machine plant on the outskirts of Gurgaon in the state of Haryana in August 2012. Annual capacity will be 500,000 units, but the plant will begin by producing 100,000 units a year.
In Brazil, the company aims to be able to turn out 200,000 washing machines per year at a site on the outskirts of Sao Paulo in March 2013. Panasonic is positioning 13 countries as priority markets for white appliances, including Vietnam, Mexico and Indonesia, as well as the BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India and China.
source : kompas.com
