Panasonic review projection for Brazilian subsidiary

The retraction of consumption has changed the prospects of Panasonic for its Brazilian operation. In August 2012, the Japanese multinational design put Brazil among its top five markets in 2015. Now, it has become "difficult", sets Jinoodaruwala Uji, Panasonic's President for Latin America. "Our goal is that the Brazilian market is one of the top five, but we see the local situation more severe than last August," he said.
The company did not details, but reports that, by volume, grew 15 percent in the country in 2012. In the world, Panasonic won 7.3 trillion yen (about US $ 72 billion) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013, 7% less than in the previous fiscal year when already had registered 10% drop compared to 2011.
Uji says that Brazil is among the 15 countries with the highest proportion of global billing and should continue to grow, but the macroeconomic situation changed. "In the current market, there are some products whose demand growth is slowing, or whose market price is falling more than expected", says the Executive, referring mainly to the values of televisions.
In 2012, the average price of TVs fell 13%, according to data of IBGE, while overall inflation measured by the IPCA rose 5.8%. Between January and April 2013, the value of retail devices had slight high of 0.57% (2.5%) increased IPCA.
The TVs account for 40% of the revenue from Panasonic in Brazil and, according to the Executive, the prospect is that sales will grow because of the World Cup in 2014. Stereos, batteries, white line items and surveillance systems, such as cameras, each account for about 10% of the mix.
Panasonic will not make significant new investments in Brazilian operation in 2013, but take advantage of the $ 200 million that arrived here in the last three years to leverage sales of clothes washers, TVs and appliances for safety. "Now we are going to operate. Didn't think to invest more in factories, or production lines, "says Uji. Last year, the company opened a factory for refrigerators and clothes washers in Extrema (MG), invested in marketing, with the hiring of Neymar and player model Fernanda Lima as poster boys, and expanded distribution.
At the opening of the mining unit, at the end of 2012, the company unveiled the plan to produce washing machines at the site from April. So far, did not start. Panasonic did not comment on the timeline changes and reported only that the item will begin production later this year.
In addition to the economic downturn, he points out another obstacle to a stronger Brazilian operation. "Has the issue of protectionism, the country is not 100% open to international trade. Is different from Mexico, for example. This influences the import of finished products. To have volume, have to have big factory here, and this requires high investment. " The Panasonic imports most components and not reduced prices this year, says Uji.
The company has three factories in the country. In Manaus, microwaves, TVs and cameras; in São José dos Campos (SP), cells and batteries; and in extreme, refrigerators, and, by the end of the year, clothes washers. (LC)