STRATEGIC PARTNERS
March 2, 2020
Panasonic, Japan's third largest vending manufacturer behind Fuji Electric and Sanden Holdings, plans to discontinue building and marketing vending machines within the year on account of market conditions in Japan, according to a Nikkei Asian Review report.
Panasonic will continue to provide replacement parts after discontinuing manufacturing. Around 130 employees will be reassigned.
Competition from convenience store coffee machine providers played into the company's decision, along with the country's population decline, according to the report.
Beverage vending machines declined about 5% in the past decade to around 2.42 million in 2018, the Japan Vending System Manufacturers Association said.
