Panasonic Announces Signing of Professional Women’s Tennis Player Naomi Osaka as Brand Ambassador

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Panasonic Corporation has signed a brand ambassador agreement with professional women's tennis player Naomi Osaka. The period of agreement is two years starting from April 22, 2021.

Panasonic sought the agreement with Ms. Osaka after observing that her values and perspectives on society deeply resonate with its own management philosophy, primarily with regard to the following three points:

First, Ms. Osaka takes social issues seriously, looking beyond tennis to share her views on what a better society would look like in her own words. The founder of Panasonic, Konosuke Matsushita, held the notion that a stable state of happiness comes only when both mental stability and material prosperity are secured. Based on this idea, the company endeavors to create an ideal society where all of us can enjoy lives that are both mentally fulfilling and affluent in the material sense.

Second, Ms. Osaka’s intense and powerful playing is a source of energy and courage for people all over the world. Panasonic has passed down the founder’s view that the mission of an enterprise is to achieve a prosperous society and to make people happy, and continues to work toward fulfilling a strong aspiration not only to provide products needed by society, but also to make customers who use them feel happy and uplifted.

And third, Ms. Osaka continues to grow and evolve as her magnificent track record being one of the world’s top athletes is the result of her tireless efforts to refine each and every move in the course of her daily training and matches. Panasonic also continues to grow and evolve in a range of fields, aiming to elevate its expertise for the benefit of customers and society and achieve constant evolution.

At this time, Panasonic and Ms. Osaka have concluded a brand ambassador agreement to join hands in an endeavor to create an ideal society for each and every person, positioning “A Champion. For Progress.” as our shared commitment.

Ms. Osaka has shown she has the courage to take action in the face of adversity. Panasonic will provide her with heartfelt support.

Reference:

- Panasonic’s management philosophy
https://www.panasonic.com/global/corporate/management/philosophy.html#section_02

- Why Panasonic Appointed Naomi Osaka
https://channel.panasonic.com/contents/33222/

- "A CHAMPION. FOR PROGRESS." - Naomi Osaka, a brand ambassador of Panasonic
https://channel.panasonic.com/contents/33217/
https://channel.panasonic.com/contents/33219/ (Short version)

Naomi Osaka

Profile:
Date of birth: October 16, 1997
Place of birth: Osaka City, Osaka
Height: 180 cm

Naomi Osaka was born to a Japanese mother and a Haitian-American father, who moved her to New York in the United States when she was three years old. She is now based in Florida.

Major achievements:

• 2013: Started her professional career in tennis
• July 2014: Qualified for the first time for the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Tour Championships in Stanford
• January 2016: Advanced to the third round at the Australian Open, her Grand Slam debut
• 2016: Also advanced to the third round at the French Open (Roland-Garros) and the US Open Tennis Championships, where she recorded a serve speed of 201.1 km/h
• September 2016: Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis Tournament runner-up
• October 2016: Named “Newcomer of the Year” at the 2016 WTA Awards, becoming the first Japanese player to win the award
• March 2018: BNP Paribas Open champion
• August 2018: US Open Tennis Championships champion
• January 2019: Australian Open champion
• September 2019: China Open tennis champion
• September 2019: Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis Tournament champion
• August 2020: US Open Tennis Championships champion
• February 2021: Australian Open champion

Current WTA Ranking: 2nd
Qualified to play at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 (Women’s tennis, singles)

About Panasonic

Panasonic Corporation is a global leader developing innovative technologies and solutions for wide-ranging applications in the consumer electronics, housing, automotive, and B2B sectors. The company, which celebrated its 100^th anniversary in 2018, operates 522 subsidiaries and 69 associated companies worldwide and reported consolidated net sales of 6,698.8 billion yen for the year ended March 31, 2021. Committed to pursuing new value through collaborative innovation, the company uses its technologies to create a better life and a better world for customers. Learn more about Panasonic: https://www.panasonic.com/global

Source: https://news.panasonic.com/global/press/data/2021/06/en210624-3/en210624-3.html

Related Links

- Panasonic’s management philosophy
https://www.panasonic.com/global/corporate/management/philosophy.html#section_02

- Why Panasonic Appointed Naomi Osaka
https://channel.panasonic.com/contents/33222/

- "A CHAMPION. FOR PROGRESS." - Naomi Osaka, a brand ambassador of Panasonic
https://channel.panasonic.com/contents/33217/
https://channel.panasonic.com/contents/33219/ (Short version)

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210624005399/en/