Panasonic, Easa Husain Al-Yousifi have a shared goal to deliver top quality products

Anthony Peter, Director, Corporate Communications Division, Panasonic Marketing Middle East & Africa

KUWAIT: As a global leader in technology, Panasonic will support the 'New Kuwait Vision' in a variety of sectors, such as healthcare, transportation, and services, said Anthony Peter, Director, Corporate Communications Division, Panasonic Marketing Middle East & Africa, in an exclusive interview with Kuwait Times. Underscoring the significance of Panasonic's 63 years of partnership with its local partner Easa Husain Al-Yousifi, he said, Panasonic and Easa Husain Al-Yousifi have a shared goal - to deliver high-quality products. Excerpts:

Kuwait Times: Panasonic has launched a major marketing campaign in the Middle East recently. How will this campaign help Panasonic reinforce its customer trust and quality innovations?

Peter: We launched the marketing campaign 'Makers of Quality, Mastered in Japan' with an aim to foster stronger customer value for the brand. We want to underscore the brand's commitment to continuously deliver on its century-old heritage of Japanese craftsmanship and quality innovations laying emphasis on 'Japan Quality'. Simply put, we want to assure our customers that Panasonic will continue to use its strengths in technology while pursuing further technological innovation, through research and development to offer new value to customers, both B2B and B2C. This will further help us strengthen the affinity with our customers who value premium 'Japan Quality' products.

Also, as part of our business strategy for 2018, we are also launching relevant promotions to further enhance brand awareness. For instance, we will launch soon our Ramadan Campaign, which will highlight our top-of-the-line kitchen appliances. After the Ramadan Campaign, we'll be introducing an Eid Campaign, with focus on our beauty and grooming range.

KT: Panasonic has established a niche for itself over the last 100 years. What are the key milestones of Panasonic over the last 100 years? What can the market/consumers expect from the company for the next 100 years?

Peter: Since our founding in 1918, Panasonic has been dedicated to developing products/solutions aimed at helping people live better lives. That year, Panasonic introduced an improved attachment plug, which allowed people to power an electrical appliance from a light socket, and this was followed by a double cluster socket that made it possible to power lights and appliances from a single source. Since then, Panasonic has continuously created a variety of products, we can proudly say, have made life more comfortable for our customers. To name a few, following are just some of our most important achievements, the technologies of which we continuously upgrade to remain responsive to our customers' needs:

Washing Machines - First washing machine introduced in 1951, and this meant significant improvement from doing a chore that consumed so much time.

Refrigerators - 1953. This became a staple in every household.

Televisions - In 1952, Panasonic introduced its first TV, which delivered black-and-white broadcasts. This drew people in like never before to the new world of audiovisual entertainment.

Air Conditioners - Launched first room air conditioner in 1958.

Hair Dryers - First introduced in 1937, Panasonic hair dryers have evolved to become a favorite around the world.

Vacuum Cleaners - Panasonic vacuum cleaners have gone a long way since its debut in 1958. The year 2015 marked our first robotic vacuum cleaners, the culmination of 30 years' worth of technological development.

Audio - We launched the stereo console "Asuka" in 1964 and it immediately earned acclaim not only for its outstanding sound quality but also for its design as a fine piece of furniture.

Microwave Ovens - We introduced our first microwave oven in 1963 eliminating a great deal of the labor required to prepare meals. Panasonic perfected the art of microwave cooking with the inverter technology.

Cameras - We introduced our first consumer video camera and portable recorder in 1982. From there, Panasonic would go on to leverage its video camera technologies and today, we have select camera models that can shoot video in astounding 4K.

Moving forward, and building on our 100-year heritage of Japanese craftmanship and industry expertise, Panasonic is looking to further empower its customers, by offering products that not only provide comfort, ease, and convenience daily, but match their premier lifestyle as well. We also plan to develop more products that cater to the specific needs of our Middle East customers as part of our continuing commitment to provide them 'a better life, a better world'.

KT: How important is the Kuwait market for Panasonic?

Peter: Kuwait is a key market for Panasonic. We are in our 63rd year of partnership with our local partner Easa Husain Al-Yousifi and we have a strong brand presence in the country. Kuwait has consistently fared well the past years in various global market research reports, and with a growing population and an increasing employment rate that leads to rising consumer purchasing power, Panasonic indeed has enormous opportunity to provide the market with the latest products/solutions that meet consumer's demands.

4. Panasonic's partnership with Easa Husain Al-Yousifi & Sons Co, is a success story. How do you look at this unique partnership?

Peter: Panasonic and Easa Husain Al-Yousifi have a shared goal - to deliver high-quality products in order to be able to respond to greater and changing demands from clients. This, I believe, is the key factor of our successful partnership. Also, Easa Husain Al-Yousifi & Sons Company enjoys an esteemed reputation in Kuwait as one of the country's leading commercial and retail establishments. Panasonic is able to complement this through an excellent product range, all industry-leading in terms of technology and innovation.

KT: How do you think Panasonic can contribute to Kuwait Vision 2035?

Peter: The New Kuwait vision has technology at the core of it. Technology is expected to play an integral part in a variety of sectors, such as healthcare, transportation, and services. As a global trusted leader in technology, Panasonic has the products/solutions that will support this vision. For example, one of the project goals is focused on alternative and renewable sources of clean energy, most notably solar energy - we already have that technology in place. Our environmental technologies, IoT tech, among others can also support other areas of focus for improvement outlined in Kuwait Vision 2035.

KT: What are the growth prospects for Kuwait? What are the potential challenges?

Peter: Kuwait's economic prospects are improving, and experts agree that the economy is expected to return to growth this year. Again, consumer spending power is increasing so we see enormous opportunities on this, especially as we know Kuwaitis have affinity for high-quality products like what Panasonic offers. There may be challenges ahead, but we'd like to remain focused on the tremendous opportunities that lie ahead.

KT: What are the company's latest innovations?

Peter: For Middle East, we are introducing new products, both in B2B and B2C, as part of our 2018 business strategy. For B2C, our focus is to expand our major appliances category with new products/models. These include, TVs, ACs, Washing Machines and Refrigerators, among others. Likewise for B2B, we have new launches, among them industrial ventilation fans to boost our IAQ (Indoor Air Quality) solutions.

We recently rolled out new OLED TVs featuring Panasonic's HCX video processor and vast HDR10+ support at the CES 2018. We also introduced Ultra HD Blu-ray players, as well as new Technics flagship turntable. For automotive, Panasonic showcased three next-generation cockpit/cabin system concepts to meet vehicle advances expected over the next decade. Finally, we also unveiled our collaborations in lithium ion batteries and solar panels (in line with our focus of using sustainable energy sources) with partners Tesla and Gogoro of Taiwan.

KT: How do you ensure Panasonic quality is consistently achieved in all your products?

Peter: Panasonic brings great Japanese quality products to the market. We are confident to say that we are a brand that genuinely understands quality and we have a 100-year heritage that can attest to that. Panasonic has always been dedicated to improving people's lives and to helping society progress. As innovation is a key ingredient of our work, we invest heavily on research and development. In fact, our global R&D spending stands at 4.36 billion yen, which is an indication of our commitment to bring latest technology and innovation. Also, even from the early stage of conceptualizing ideas for new products and solutions, we already have our customers' needs in mind. With this committed focus of putting our customers always at the center of our work, we remain a strong brand capable of offering the best-in-industry products and solutions.

By Sajeev K Peter