Consumer electronics companies love to talk about product launches. Panasonic just spent a day talking about what happens after the box is opened.
Panasonic Middle East & Africa held its Customer Service Strategy Conference 2026 on July 20, a virtual forum that pulled in senior staff from the regional headquarters, business partners, Panasonic factories, its Customer Service Headquarters and the Quality Assurance group. The agenda was narrow and unglamorous: review FY25 performance, set FY26 priorities, and walk partners through the latest Service Spare Parts and Customer Delivery line-up aimed at cutting repair turnaround times.
That last point is the one worth watching. Spare parts availability is the single biggest determinant of how long a broken air conditioner or television sits in a service centre, and across the Middle East and Africa, distances and customs friction make it harder than in Japan or Europe. A refreshed parts and delivery programme is a more meaningful signal about Panasonic’s regional intentions than most product announcements.
Three partners take the STAR awards
The conference’s set piece was the STAR Service Competition, which recognises partner-run service centres on FY25 performance. This year’s winners were Ghamdan Trading Company in Qatar, Omasco in Oman, and Modern Electronics Co. Ltd. in Saudi Arabia — a spread that reflects where Panasonic’s Gulf volume actually sits.
“The progress achieved during FY25 reflects the dedication of our teams and business partners, whose commitment continues to enhance the customer experience across the Middle East and Africa,” said John Hardy, Chief Executive Officer of Panasonic Middle East & Africa, congratulating the three winners.
Why service, why now
Panasonic Holdings reported consolidated net sales of 8,458.2 billion yen for the year ended March 31, 2025, and the group has spent the past few years reorganising itself into an operating-company structure that pushes accountability down into individual businesses. In a region where Panasonic competes against Samsung, LG, Hisense and a long tail of aggressive Chinese brands on price, after-sales support is one of the few levers a legacy Japanese manufacturer can pull that a newcomer cannot easily copy.
The obvious caveat: an annual partner conference and a set of internal awards are inputs, not outcomes. Panasonic did not publish repair turnaround times, first-time-fix rates, or customer satisfaction figures alongside the announcement, which are the numbers that would actually tell you whether the service network is improving. Until those surface, this is a statement of intent — a reasonable one, but a statement of intent all the same.
