Pensonic Group
Encyclopedia
The Pensonic Group founded by Dato Chew Weng Khak , started business as a small shop in Penang
selling electrical appliances trading under the name of Keat Radio Co. in 1965 as a sole proprietor. In 1982, Chew started the Pensonic brand name to produce locally manufactured electrical appliances in order to ensure long term growth of his company, and the brand name “Pensonic” was invented by combining “Pen” and “sonic” to mean “Sound of Penang”. It turn out that Pensonic has developed and grown into one of the most successful Malaysian brands in household appliances. It was the first Malaysian brand to have received the Brand Promotion Grant from MITI of Malaysian in 2005 and it has also received a numbers of excellence design awards.
However, there is a dispute between Pensonic brand and Panasonic brand where by the latter feels that the brand name of Pensonic is too similar to Panasonic
and may have capitalized on the market share of Panasonic. The dispute was eventually brought to the courts of law in several countries.
In Singapore, Panasonic had won an injunction in Singapore in November 2008 against Pensonic after it has been operating for over 20 years. The Pensonic name is considered by Panasonic as one of many knockoff names of Panasonic
of Japan.
In Sri Lanka, Pensonic has squashed the opposition of Panasonic for its trade mark registration in Jan 2009. The judgment observed that Pensonic was registered in Malaysia in 1984 and the same was registered in Japan (the home country of Panasonic) and many countries in the world without the objection of Panasonic. This means that in these countries the two brands in actual fact historically co-exist.
The group has its own R&D, assembling and manufacturing facilities in Malaysia. Pensonic products are now exported to the Middle East
and other ASEAN countries.
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
selling electrical appliances trading under the name of Keat Radio Co. in 1965 as a sole proprietor. In 1982, Chew started the Pensonic brand name to produce locally manufactured electrical appliances in order to ensure long term growth of his company, and the brand name “Pensonic” was invented by combining “Pen” and “sonic” to mean “Sound of Penang”. It turn out that Pensonic has developed and grown into one of the most successful Malaysian brands in household appliances. It was the first Malaysian brand to have received the Brand Promotion Grant from MITI of Malaysian in 2005 and it has also received a numbers of excellence design awards.
However, there is a dispute between Pensonic brand and Panasonic brand where by the latter feels that the brand name of Pensonic is too similar to Panasonic
Panasonic
Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...
and may have capitalized on the market share of Panasonic. The dispute was eventually brought to the courts of law in several countries.
In Singapore, Panasonic had won an injunction in Singapore in November 2008 against Pensonic after it has been operating for over 20 years. The Pensonic name is considered by Panasonic as one of many knockoff names of Panasonic
Panasonic
Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...
of Japan.
In Sri Lanka, Pensonic has squashed the opposition of Panasonic for its trade mark registration in Jan 2009. The judgment observed that Pensonic was registered in Malaysia in 1984 and the same was registered in Japan (the home country of Panasonic) and many countries in the world without the objection of Panasonic. This means that in these countries the two brands in actual fact historically co-exist.
The group has its own R&D, assembling and manufacturing facilities in Malaysia. Pensonic products are now exported to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and other ASEAN countries.