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<\/p>\nBorn in 1964 in Osaka. Shinichi Hayashi spent\u00a0his school days in Kansai and joined Panasonic Corporation (formerly Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.) in 1988. He was a\u00a0business-to-business\u00a0sales representative in\u00a0the\u00a0import firm department who eventually transferred to\u00a0their Tokyo office in 1988.\u00a0He started to work overseas in Singapore in 2012. He assumed his new role in the Philippines\u00a0in 2016 after he completed his\u00a0tour of\u00a0duty in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
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Panasonic continues to provide practical and high-quality home appliances that have been entrenched\u00a0in Philippine culture. Behind the wheel of this big ship is Mr.\u00a0Shinichi Hayashi, the President of Panasonic Manufacturing Philippines Corporation. In this edition of Business Talk, we get Mr. Hayashi to tell us more about Panasonic\u2019s line of beauty products, as well as his plans for taking Panasonic Home Appliance to the next level. He also talks about how Panasonic will ride the wave of high economic growth in the Philippines\u00a0and open a new chapter in Panasonic\u2019s\u00a0history.<\/p>\n
What led you to <\/b><\/strong>join Panasonic<\/b><\/strong>, especially in the Philippines<\/b><\/strong>?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n Panasonic\u2019s global presence and overseas networks were what led me to join Panasonic. I always had a strong desire to do something abroad and do business in a different setting. I used to be a student in the science and engineering majors and was not gifted in language, but overcoming\u00a0my weakness in language was important to me. Also,\u00a0working globally on a big stage was very attractive.<\/p>\n What <\/b><\/strong>does Panasonic do<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0in<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0the<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0Philippine<\/b><\/strong>s<\/b><\/strong>?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n In brief, our business creates\u00a0and sells\u00a0consumer electronics.\u00a0We manage 2 types of products:\u00a0imported and domestically manufactured.\u00a0Products that are popular and would fit a certain a country are usually manufactured locally. Those that can be offered as common global models would be manufactured overseas and then exported.<\/p>\n Here in the Philippines, home appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, and electric fans are made in the Philippines. We manufacture some of our most popular models here in the Philippines,\u00a0like\u00a0single and twin-tub washing machines.\u00a0Other variants, like those with fully\u00a0automatic functions\u00a0or front-loading\u00a0washing machines,\u00a0have to be imported.<\/p>\n We also import our split type air conditioners, while window-type air conditioners, which are often seen in the Philippines, are made locally. Other enterprise business equipment,\u00a0such as TVs, projectors, security cameras, and fax machines\u00a0are also imported.<\/p>\n What kind of product<\/b><\/strong>s<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0<\/b><\/strong>are <\/b><\/strong>popular in <\/b><\/strong>the <\/b><\/strong>Philippine<\/b><\/strong>s<\/b><\/strong>?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n There are several products that are really suited for the culture here.\u00a0One of them is the B10\u00a0refrigerator\u00a0series. The\u00a0B10 series has equal-sized freezer and refrigerator in one unit, as opposed to the freezer being\u00a0normally smaller than the refrigerator.\u00a0It\u2019s popular with s<\/i><\/em>ari-sari<\/i><\/em>\u00a0stores\u00a0because they don\u2019t need to buy two\u00a0appliances: a freezer and a refrigerator.<\/p>\n Twin-tub washing machines may be popular in other countries, but our single tub washing machines are popular here.\u00a0It\u2019s a type of washing machine that has rotating cleaning\u00a0components\u00a0called a spin motor and a pulsator.\u00a0We went with this technology to give people access to washing machines without it being too expensive.<\/p>\n We also noticed that people\u00a0who\u00a0live in the city have a strong tendency to buy upper middle\u2013end\u00a0or \u201cprosumer\u201d\u00a0products. We look to take advantage of this trend by promoting exclusive electronic products with the logo of \u201cJapan Quality,\u201d which has given us good sales\u00a0resulting in double-digit growth just last year.<\/p>\n Panasonic recently <\/b><\/strong>started <\/b><\/strong>selling its Panasonic Beauty line <\/b><\/strong>to the general public.<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0Could you tell us more about <\/b><\/strong>Panasonic Beauty<\/b><\/strong>?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n A lot of women in the Philippines\u00a0have started to care about fashion or beauty-related matters\u00a0thanks to the rise in the country\u2019s per-household GDP. We saw this as an opportunity to promote Panasonic Beauty.<\/p>\n A\u00a0hair dryer with nanoe\u2122\u00a0function typically costs \u00a510,000\u00a0or just under Php 5,000.\u00a0Though we were concerned\u00a0about\u00a0people\u2019s\u00a0buying capacity, we still went through with it because we believed in\u00a0the potential to get to the market.<\/p>\n It\u2019s still early,\u00a0but the fact that they choose to spend a certain amount of money for beauty products makes us believe that sales will go up\u00a0as time goes on.<\/p>\n How does the Philippine market compare to other areas?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n Domestic demand is very attractive for the future of Panasonic, especially when you\u00a0consider the 100-million population\u00a0count. Political stability has been good, and the\u00a0Philippines\u00a0has\u00a0also sustained the highest economic growth in all of Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n We would like to focus on the domestic demand to gain a better foothold in the market. This can be realized by increasing the market\u00a0share in this country, which would also result in growth for\u00a0Panasonic.<\/p>\n What do you find appealing about the business in <\/b><\/strong>the <\/b><\/strong>Philippine<\/b><\/strong>s<\/b><\/strong>? What kind of advantages do you have?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n We cater to\u00a0domestic demand, which is our biggest advantage. If we can successfully put our brand image to users aged 40 to\u00a050, their children can easily\u00a0use Panasonic products. This can\u00a0only\u00a0be done in the Philippines\u00a0because of their strong family ties.<\/p>\n What pro<\/b><\/strong>ble<\/b><\/strong>ms have you encountered<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0<\/b><\/strong>while d<\/b><\/strong>o<\/b><\/strong>ing<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0business in <\/b><\/strong>the <\/b><\/strong>Philippine<\/b><\/strong>s<\/b><\/strong>?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n There is no preferential tax system for the manufacturing industry aimed at domestic demand. It\u2019s different when compared to other Asian countries.\u00a0However, I have high expectations\u00a0for the manufacturing industry in general, especially with what the new administration is considering.<\/p>\n Electricity is also expensive in\u00a0the\u00a0Philippines. The solar panel is one of our products, which we use in our factory operations to save on our electric bills. However, this only brings the cost to that in Japan. It still costs twice as much as Malaysia, and they provide one and a half times the benefits to their electric bills. The situation is very tough for\u00a0the\u00a0manufacturing industry.<\/p>\n Logistics should also be enhanced. Traffic in the Philippines is terrible. There\u2019s also the problem of having\u00a0to bring our products to a solitary island by ship since the Philippines\u00a0is an archipelago. We are trying to reduce the lead time of our supply chain as much as we can,\u00a0but there is still a long way to go.<\/p>\n What <\/b><\/strong>are <\/b><\/strong>the best thing<\/b><\/strong>s<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0and <\/b><\/strong>the <\/b><\/strong>challenges<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0about Filipino<\/b><\/strong>s<\/b><\/strong>?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n Many people in the Philippines\u00a0can communicate in English, so it is very easy to establish good relationships\u00a0with them compared to other countries in Asia. They have a cheerful personality and take their work very seriously. They are also very talented and wise enough to work on\u00a0design\u00a0or software development.<\/p>\n If I had one concern, it would be our difficulty in hiring well-trained developers and engineers. We have been dealing with an industrial structure based on service businesses, yet more people go for jobs\u00a0in BPOs, consulting, and accounting\u00a0firms.<\/p>\n What <\/b><\/strong>does the <\/b><\/strong>future <\/b><\/strong>hold for Panasonic in the Philippines<\/b><\/strong>?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n I would like to expand towards business use\u00a0for our products. Real\u00a0estate investment is very popular in the Philippines,\u00a0and\u00a0reinforcing the development of hardware and software-related equipment\u00a0would create a great opportunity to expand our platform.<\/p>\n These can include large-sized air conditioners\/refrigerators, security cameras, and projectors, or even reinforcing operation solutions\u00a0such as solar panels\u00a0for condominiums and office buildings. Panasonic products are superior in terms of high performance\/quality, making our solutions reliable\u00a0with a design\u00a0that\u00a0has been deeply researched for all kinds of users.<\/p>\n What do you do in your <\/b><\/strong>free time<\/b><\/strong>?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n I do jogging, play\u00a0golf, and read books for my personal life. In 2002, I started jogging in earnest. I have completed 20 full marathons so far, but I\u00a0have not run a marathon for the past 2 years.<\/p>\n I usually run 10 \u2013 20\u00a0kilometers\u00a0on Saturdays\u00a0and Sundays, which means once or twice a week\u00a0in a\u00a0place like a promenade recently established near McKinley\u00a0in BGC.\u00a0I\u00a0also\u00a0play golf two or three times a month but\u00a0my skill\u00a0is nothing to brag about\u00a0(laughs).<\/p>\n What<\/b><\/strong>\u2019s one quote\/phrase that you live by?<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n If you try hard for everything on your own, you will see the truth and would not be affected by\u00a0what people say about you.<\/p>\n Sometimes you fail to see what is right and wrong if you do not have your own mindset. That is why I always try to have a very strong picture of my behavior especially when I have to face difficulties.<\/p>\n This story appears in the September 2017 issue of Philippine Primer Magazine.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In this edition of Business Talk, we get Mr. Hayashi to tell us more about Panasonic\u2019s line of beauty products, as well as his plans for taking Panasonic Home Appliance to the next level.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2759,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[201],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-talk"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2755"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2763,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2755\/revisions\/2763"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/business\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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