Sparking success: How insight is helping Panasonic expand

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Kōnosuke Matsushita started his business in Japan in 1918, selling duplex lamp sockets before expanding to other products, including a line of bicycle lamps and electric irons. The company he founded, then known as Matsushita Electric, would later expand into areas such as consumer electronics, cooking accessories and beauty products. That company’s name is Panasonic, and it has since become one of Japan’s most recognisable exports.

Panasonic is based in, and run from, Japan, but has a strong global presence. This has led it into competition with many regional and global rivals, from Dyson in the UK to Philips in the Netherlands and Braun in Germany. Insight is helping the company increase its footprint in Europe and compete within a cut-throat market.

Despite the size of the company and its long-term presence in Europe, Panasonic has a relatively new insight function on the continent. Rewind five years, and there was no member of staff heading a market research or insight department, or operating in ...