Panasonic : invests in CLAS, a provider of furniture and appliance rental and subscription services, through the Panasonic Kurashi Visionary Fund

Tokyo, Japan, July 28, 2026 - Panasonic Corporation (Head Office: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Akira Toyoshima; hereinafter referred to as Panasonic) today announced that it has invested in CLAS Inc. (Head Office: Meguro-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Hirotake Kubo; hereinafter referred to as CLAS), a company that offers furniture and appliance subscription service that provides flexible living and working spaces tailored to the period of use, for both individual and corporate customers. The investment was made through a corporate venture capital fund, commonly known as the Panasonic Kurashi Visionary Fund, jointly managed by Panasonic and SBI Investment Co., Ltd.

Against the backdrop of a growing number of single-person households and increasingly diverse lifestyles, a shift in values from ownership to usage is spreading in furniture and appliances industry. While demand for subscription-based rental services is expanding, competition with the purchase-based market and other sharing services is intensifying. Even in this environment, the adoption of reuse and sharing, along with the spread of sustainable consumption behavior, is expected to continue, and significant potential for growth remains in the subscription-based rental service industry.

A key feature of CLAS is that, in addition to offering a monthly subscription service for furniture and appliances, it provides the flexibility to use items only for the required period and to exchange or return them according to changes in life stage or circumstances. Customers can also purchase products they like through residual-value payments, offering an optimal option that helps prevent unsuitable purchases and minimizes upfront investment risk. CLAS's service allows individual customers to set up their living and working environments while minimizing initial costs and disposal effort. The service is designed to align well with short- to medium-term housing needs such as personal relocations and single-person work assignments. For corporate clients, CLAS helps enhance the value of real estate properties, support their early sale, and build offices that remain adaptable to corporate change. Furthermore, this circular-use model has the potential to become widely adopted as circular-economy-based living infrastructure, and Panasonic is closely monitoring CLAS's future development and market trends.

Panasonic has offered Panasonic Factory Refresh, its line of Panasonic-inspected refurbished products in which collected home appliances are regenerated, resold, and provided after their quality has been confirmed through rigorous inspection. Through this investment in CLAS, Panasonic-acting as a partner supporting the circular furniture and appliance business-will further accelerate the realization of a circular economy in the furniture and appliance field and help expand the range of options for sustainable living.