Sanyo
More info
- Creator
- Toshio Iue
- Released
- 1947
- Type
- Electronics manufacturer
- Successor
- Panasonic
A Japanese electronics giant that for decades made everything from televisions to rechargeable batteries, before being swallowed whole by its biggest rival.
Sanyo was founded in Osaka in 1947 by Toshio Iue, a brother-in-law of Panasonic's founder and a former employee there. The name means "three oceans," a nod to the ambition of selling worldwide — which it duly did, with TVs, white goods, solar panels and, above all, batteries.
Its rechargeable Eneloop cells became a cult favourite, and Sanyo was for years the world's largest maker of rechargeable batteries. The 2008 financial crisis broke the company, and Panasonic bought a majority stake in 2009 and the rest in 2011. The brand was retired; Eneloop lives on under the Panasonic name.