"‘Toshiba, Toshiba, Toshiba in the new era!’ — many Chinese people are familiar with this catchy slogan. Back in the day, Japanese brands like Sony, Toshiba, Hitachi, Sanyo, and Panasonic were dominant in the global home appliance market. Their advertisements were everywhere, and they were once synonymous with quality. However, those days have long passed.
On November 14, 2017, Hisense Electric Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the Hisense Group, and Toshiba Corporation announced in Tokyo that 95% of the shares of Toshiba Visual Solutions Corporation (TVS) had been officially transferred to Hisense. This marked a significant shift in the global TV industry.
After the deal was completed, Hisense gained access to Toshiba’s TV products, brand, and operational services, along with a 40-year global brand authorization for Toshiba TVs. The equity transfer was valued at approximately 12.9 billion yen (around RMB 798 million). For both Toshiba, which was struggling to recover from financial difficulties, and Hisense, a rapidly growing Chinese company, this partnership seemed like a win-win move.
Toshiba's financial crisis stemmed from the Westinghouse Electric subsidiary, which suffered losses due to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. By 2015, Toshiba reported a net loss of 483.2 billion yen — its worst loss in 140 years. To survive, the company began selling off assets, closing overseas factories, cutting jobs, and even selling trademarks in Europe and Southeast Asia.
For its imaging business, Toshiba found it hard to sustain investment. To maintain the value of TVS, the best option was to find a strong financial partner. Hisense, with its solid operations and financial strength, became an ideal choice.
From Hisense’s perspective, acquiring Toshiba’s image technology provided access to advanced patents in image quality chips and algorithms. This helped improve their own product performance. Moreover, as the third-largest TV brand globally, Hisense could benefit from Toshiba’s strong presence in the Japanese market. Acquiring Toshiba gave them a stronger foothold in the international TV market.
This acquisition proved to be a strategic move for both companies. It created a synergy that went beyond just numbers — it offered a fresh direction for the entire television industry.
Hisense’s overseas acquisitions are not new. While investing in R&D is important, buying well-known foreign brands has become a common strategy for Chinese companies to boost their market presence and offer better value for money.
In 2005, Hisense acquired a significant stake in Kelon Electric, becoming its largest shareholder. This move allowed Hisense to expand its brand portfolio and quickly rise to the top of the white goods sector.
In 2015, Hisense bought Sharp’s Mexican plant and TV brand rights in North America. Now, with the acquisition of Toshiba’s image business, Hisense continues to strengthen its global position, showing its ambition to go beyond domestic markets.
In contrast, Toshiba has been selling off assets rather than acquiring. After losing money in the nuclear sector, it sold its TV and white goods businesses to companies like Midea and Skyworth. Even its memory chip division was sold to a consortium led by Bain Capital. As a result, Toshiba is now focusing on upstream industries, stepping back from consumer electronics.
Chinese companies have increasingly turned to overseas acquisitions in recent years. Haier bought Sanyo and Fisher & Paykel, while TCL acquired Novatel Wireless. Midea expanded through deals with Carrier and Toshiba’s white goods division. These moves reflect a broader trend of Chinese firms seeking growth abroad.
The decline of Japanese home appliances can be attributed to several factors. Internally, Japanese companies struggled with rigid structures and slow decision-making. Externally, they faced competition from Korean and Chinese firms, as well as pressure from U.S. tech giants. With lower technical barriers and rising consumer demand for affordable, high-quality products, traditional Japanese brands lost their edge.
While Japanese companies still hold strong brand recognition and technological expertise, their focus has shifted from B2C to B2B. Many have exited the consumer market, redirecting resources toward more profitable sectors.
In summary, the decline of Japanese home appliances isn’t due to a lack of innovation, but rather outdated business models and slower adaptation to market changes. As the home appliance industry matures, companies must evolve or risk being left behind. Japan’s legacy remains, but its future lies in specialized, high-tech fields rather than mass consumer products."
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