Sanyo

Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Logo since 1987
Native name	三洋電機株式会社
Romanized name	San'yō Denki Kabushiki-gaisha
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Electronics
Founded	1947; 77 years ago (1947) April 1950; 74 years ago (1950-04) (incorporated)[1]
Founder	Toshio Iue
Fate	Acquired by Panasonic[2]
Headquarters	Moriguchi, Osaka, Japan
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Seiichirou Igaki (president)[1]
Products	Consumer electronics dry batteries vacuum cleaners cellular phones
Revenue	¥84.678 billion (2018)[3]
Operating income	¥6.590 billion (2018)[3]
Net income	¥4.983 billion (2018)[3]
Total assets	¥106.304 billion (2018)[3]
Total equity	¥64.832 billion (2018)[3]
Number of employees	104,882 (consolidated) 9,504 (non-consolidated) (March 31, 2010)[4]
Parent	Panasonic
Website	sanyo-av.com (Audiovisual products, American market only)

Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (三洋電機株式会社, San'yō Denki Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese electronics manufacturer founded in 1947 by Toshio Iue, the brother-in-law of Kōnosuke Matsushita, the founder of Panasonic. Iue left Matsushita Electric Industrial (now Panasonic) to start his own business, acquiring some of its equipment to produce bicycle generator lamps. In 1950, the company was established. Sanyo began to diversify in the 1960s, having launched Japan's first spray-type washing machine in 1953. In the 2000s, it was known as one of the 3S along with Sony and Sharp. Sanyo also focused on solar cell and lithium battery businesses. In 1992, it developed the world's first hybrid solar cell, and in 2002, it had a 41% share of the global lithium-ion battery market. In its heyday in 2003, Sanyo had sales of about ¥2.5 trillion. However, it fell into a financial crisis as a result of its huge investment in the semiconductor business. In 2009, Sanyo was acquired by Panasonic, and in 2011, it was fully consolidated into Panasonic and its brand disappeared. The company still exists as a legal entity for the purpose of winding up its affairs.