Japanese brand unveils new business strategy for Middle East and Africa

Sajjad Ahmad, Deputy Business Editor


The Middle East & African market for consumer electronics products has shown great strengthen with a stable business volume during the COVID-19 pandemic in the last two years and the sector is on track for a high growth rate in 2022, said Hiroyuki Shibutani, Managing Director at Panasonic for Middle East & Africa.

Shibutani was speaking during the company regional convention in Dubai on Thursday.

About the company growth in the region, he added,” The Middle East & African (MEA) market is very important for us and the company has performed very well during Covid-19 crisis compared to other key markets. Panasonic has registered a double-digit growth in the first quarter of the 2022 on the back of Ramadan promotional activities. We expect a remarkable growth in sale in the remaining quarters of the year as the brand is going to introduce new products.”

About the brand’s future plans in the region, Shibutani said,”Over the years Middle East region has witnessed sustained growth across industries. Riding along with this dynamically growing market we aim to align our strategies and offer the widest product portfolio in both consumer and business segments to cater to regional demands.”

Panasonic Marketing Middle East & Africa (PMMAF) restated its commitment to MEA market expansion and consumer wellbeing at its regional convention, held in Dubai, that unveiled the brand’s new global motto - “Live Your Best”. The new slogan embodies Panasonic’s commitment to providing solutions that make life simpler, safer, healthier, and more enjoyable for the customers helping them to live their best.

Meanwhile, the brand will focus on expanding its regional market share to cater to the evolving customer demands with solutions that make homes, public premises, and businesses a healthy and convenient ecosystem. The convention attended by over 190 business associates from over 24 countries, laid down the brand’s plans for the new financial year and shared the business highlights for the year 2021. Panasonic registered 119% sales vs 2020 for its Health and Hygiene related consumer appliances and 106% sales vs 2020 for the B2B solution business.

Aligned with the brand’s new commitment, the event was themed “Wellbeing for Life” focused on bringing a sense of balance and wellbeing to everyone’s lives by bestowing enhanced health and hygiene. Panasonic plans to introduce a lineup of 64 new products to support this mission in 2022.

Some of the new unique products with superior technologies and Japanese excellence were spotlighted at the event. Key highlights amongst many were the Nanoe-X Air conditioners which can inhibit pathogenic microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, and viruses) and allergens.

Another innovative clean air solution is ziainoTM that uses high degree of sterilising and deodorising power of sodium hypochlorite to effectively sanitize the environment.

New Abaya Wash washing machines were positioned as distinctive hygiene systems that protect families by eliminating 99.99%* of bacteria from the clothes while washing.

The brand also emphasized on nutrition and food hygiene through its latest “Nutri TaFreez” refrigerator series that feature speedy freezing technology specifically for preserving nutrients of meats stored in the freezer.

Also introduced at the event was the brand’s latest ‘tenant solution’ to facilitate health, safety and convenience empowered by Panasonic IPRO’s AI Occupancy Detection and IoT-enabled control panel (Wall-I).

Hiroyuki Shibutani concluded, “At Panasonic, we are determined to make contributions to improving everyday life with solutions that make life simpler and more convenient with products that cater to a changing society. With more and more people giving importance to health, hygiene and wellbeing, as we come out of the pandemic, we are committed to becoming a brand that provides the solutions that satisfy this demand. We aim to transform into a brand that stays close to its customers and is supported by society through taking action against the issues they face both today and in the future.”