OREANDA-NEWS. Toshiba Corporation announced that it will establish Toshiba Lifestyle Co., Ltd. as a dedicated organization to promote its global Visual Products and Home Appliance businesses. The company will start operation on April 1, 2014, the start of the new fiscal year, as an integral member of Toshiba's Lifestyle Products & Services Group, the business group responsible for Toshiba's PC, TV and white goods businesses.

Until now, Toshiba's Digital Products & Services Company, an in-house company, has promoted the Visual Products business. Integrating it with the Home Appliance business of Toshiba Home Appliances Co., Ltd. in a new Toshiba Group company is expected to support cost optimization across business fields, and to secure more effective utilization of management resources in areas including human resources and logistics.

In order to ensure rapid decision-making in key strategic area and product development, and maximize the synergies of the integration, new project teams for regional strategy and cross-border products planning will be established, under the immediate control of president. Consolidating the company's headquarters function at Toshiba's Ome Complex in western Tokyo will reinforce cooperation between sales and technology development departments, and also contribute to overall efficiency gains.

Research and development across the Lifestyle Products & Services Group's businesses, including PCs, will also be integrated in a dedicated organization in the Digital Products and Services Company. This approach is expected to promote innovation across the entire technology and product line-ups and promote the creation of high value-added products.

In its business operations, Toshiba Lifestyle Co., Ltd. will focus on reinforcing overseas sales, especially in emerging markets, including Southeast Asia and the Middle East. It will also channel resources into promising new areas, such as smart home appliances and cloud services that will link TV and white goods in collaborative networks, as well as B2B sales in product such as signage and professional-use monitors.

Going forward, Toshiba will continue to strengthen its business in the lifestyle products and services segment by creating synergies through integrated operations in digital products and white goods and accelerating the introduction of new products and service that utilize common technology assets.