Panasonic Corp. of North America, the North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., announced it shut down its U.S. mobile-phone operations. The news comes as little surprise, however-the company had previously failed to find carrier partners to sell its phones and had resorted to offering its phones on its Web site.
Panasonic’s move also comes after the company completed a seven-month-long reorganization process to focus on sales of its Plasma TV, digital still cameras and DVD recorders.
“As a lighter, quicker and more brand-focused organization, Panasonic is well positioned to make major gains in sales and brand value this year,” said Yoshi Yamada, the company’s chairman and chief executive officer. “Working closely with our channel partners, I am confident that we will achieve our goal to make Panasonic the best-known and most consumer-centric digital electronics brand in this country.”
Panasonic officials were not immediately available to comment on possible job cuts associated with the discontinuation of the company’s U.S. phone business, or whether Panasonic would continue to provide warranty support for the phones it has sold in the United States.
AT&T Wireless Services Inc. stopped selling Panasonic’s GU87 camera phone in 2003 and was the last carrier to sell Panasonic phones in the United States. After failing to score new carrier partnerships, Panasonic began selling several phones on its Web site, including its GD55 GSM phone, its color-screen G60 and its Bluetooth-capable X70 camera phone.
Panasonic is not the only company to receive a cold shoulder from U.S. carriers. Nokia Corp. is selling its high-end 7280 through its Web site, and NEC Corp. is selling several high-end clamshell-style devices through its Web site.
Matsushita, the owner of the Panasonic brand, continues to focus on the European and Japanese mobile-phone markets.
