Matsushita Becomes Panasonic

I believe most Americans are only familiar with the Panasonic brand, but up until 2004, most of the Matsushita Corporation electronics and other products were sold under the National brand in Japan. That was a bit confusing at first, because to a smaller degree Panasonic branded products were also available here.

Since 2004 they have been phasing out the National brand (I understand that this is due to the difficulty of obtaining trademarks in other countries), and as of October of this year, the name of the company itself will become Panasonic, replacing the namesake of the founder. At that point, the brand consolidation will be complete and Matsushita and National will not be used anymore.