Panasonic Showcases Its Latest Appliances at AWE 2018 - Continuing Its Goal of Proposing Lifestyles Which "Aspire to More"

Shanghai, China - From March 8 to 11, the Appliance & Electronics World Expo (AWE) 2018 was held at the Shanghai New International Expo Center in Shanghai, China. Industry leaders in appliance manufacturing gather at AWE, an expo that introduces the latest products, technology, and solutions to consumers and the media, with nearly 800 companies participating this year, attracting approximately 250,000 visitors.

Panasonic Corporation has been participating in this expo since 2009 as a way to establish our brand image in the Chinese market as an appliance manufacturer. Panasonic Appliances Company of China (AP China) is the main force behind this initiative, securing a 1,751 m2 booth space, making it 1.2 times larger than last year. The seven corners included 100th Anniversary, Living Spaces, Cooking Demos, SKA, Built-in Kitchens and Dishwashers, Imaging, and nanoe World, representing Panasonic's goal of lifestyles which "Aspire to more."

This year's 100th Anniversary corner featured a comparison of new and old products, including refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners, as well as replicas of Panasonic's first-ever products such as attachment plugs, two-way sockets, and bullet-shaped lamps. Alongside these items a chronology highlighted historical Panasonic events, and a Vision Theater showed a video of our vision of the future.

The Living Spaces corner introduces lifestyle solutions with four living spaces including a living room, dining kitchen, bath and sanitary area, and bedroom. These spaces offered proposals with new customer value utilizing IoT appliances including a magic mirror that can be controlled simply by waving a hand over the screen to show health data or recipes, as well as cooking appliances that can be controlled by sensing the user.

The Cooking Demo corner offered bakery demonstrations, etc., product seminars, and food and drink tasting. The SKA corner highlighted rice cookers, steam ovens, and IH grills for Japanese, Chinese, and Western cooking themes. Skeleton models and graphics were used to make product features easier to understand, such as increased steam oven capacity, and a combination of the IH grill's induction heater and normal heater components. The BIK and Dishwasher corner featured displays of new built-in kitchen products including a built-in dishwasher, IH cooking equipment, and oven. The Imaging corner showcased a variety of high-end products such as the GH5S and G9 LUMIX digital single lens mirrorless cameras along with product seminars and a shooting corner which attracted many visitors throughout the entire expo.

A nine-surface multi-screen display was used on the front stage at the nanoe World corner to show the three basic effects of nanoe, including eliminating bacteria, deodorizing, and retaining moisture. The three effects were explained in an easy to understand way by combining a test demo and live images. A variety of products were promoted in this corner including nanoe air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, and beauty products. Also on display was the Porsche Design drum-type washer-dryer design model announced last September as a joint effort between AP China, Panasonic Appliances Washing Machine (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. (PAPWMHZ), and Porsche, along with the nanoe X equipped Wi-Fi connected refrigerator showcased. Finally, in the Beauty corner, visitors were able to try nanoe dyers and shavers.

Tetsuro Homma, Senior Managing Executive Officer of Panasonic Corporation and CEO of Appliances Company in charge of Consumer Business, and Managing Director Liang Wu of AP China were in attendance at the press conference held on opening day. For approximately 80 members of the media, Mr. Homma spoke about the global appliance vision of Panasonic Appliances Company, and Mr. Wu spoke about the appliance business strategy in the Chinese market and explained the contents of each booth at the expo. Mr. Homma mentioned that "AP will deliver new lifestyles which 'Aspire to more,' that meet the future of the rapid economic growth in China, as well as promoting collaboration with outside partners via networking." Mr. Wu continued, saying, "AP China plans on expanding products focusing on keywords such as health, leeway, and quality."

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