Osaka, Japan – 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.
Key Visual:
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)
