OSAKA, Dec. 13 (Kyodo) — Panasonic Corp. will launch air conditioners, washing machines and other household white goods in North America next year to improve profitability at a time when its mainstay flat-screen television sales are being affected by price drops, company officials said Tuesday.
The major Japanese consumer electronics maker may seek to put air conditioners on the market early next year and introduce washing machines and refrigerators later, they said.
Panasonic has so far refrained from offering white goods in North America that feature larger products than other markets.
The company expects to boost global sales of white goods in fiscal 2015 by 50 percent from the present level to 1.5 trillion yen by enhancing their sales also in emerging countries and Europe.
