( dpa ) - Matsushita Electric Industrial Co plans to change its name to Panasonic in October, Japanese media reports said Thursday.
The Japanese home electronics company decided to drop the founder's name Matsushita to gain more international recognition and to shift its business focus to the global market, Kyodo News Agency quoted sources.
Matsushita, founded by entrepreneur Konosuke Matsushita in 1918 in the western city of Osaka, has used the brand name Panasonic for products sold abroad and electronic and audiovisual products for the domestic market since 1955.
Overseas sales make up about half of Matsushita's total sales.
The company also sells home appliances such as washing machines and refrigerators under the National brand in Japan, but will also switch to Panasonic, ending the brand's 80-year history, Kyodo said.
Founder Matsushita, who died at age 94 in 1989, was one of Japan's most respected entrepreneurs.