Sony

Slogan: make.belive

At the origins of many world famous companies were two people, one of whom was a talented engineer, the other was well versed in the business world. was no exception and Sony.

It happened in 1946, in Japan, which had just begun to revive after the defeat and upheavals of World War II. In the partially destroyed Nihonbashi shopping center, miraculously survived the bombing of Tokyo, a young engineer Masaru Ibuka (Masaru Ibuka) opened a workshop for the repair of various electrical equipment and electronics. After some time, he and his old friend Akio Morita (Akio Morita) set up an office in the same room for a new company, which received a loud name Tokyo Telecommunications Research Institute, sometimes shortened to Totsuko. A year later, they will move to some semblance of what can already be called the head office. Their first development was a set-top box for radio receivers, which expanded the capabilities of the device, allowing it to receive foreign programs. These products were not in great demand, but allowed them to stay afloat, having put together a kind of initial capital. Moreover, sometimes it was necessary to take payment not in money, but in various products, which was a common occurrence for an impoverished country. In the future, more profitable products appear.

But the real success came in September 1949, when the first tape recorder in Japan was created. A rather ugly massive box that used 25 cm diameter bobbins was called Type G.

Tape recorder Type G (image from the official site)

Friends have always realized the importance of creating not only high-quality products, but also a beautiful brand, which was simply necessary to enter the world market. So in 1950 the brand was born Sony - derived from Latin sonus ("sound"). The word turned out to be simple, easy to remember and unique. In 1955, a new logo was officially approved and the first product under the new brand was introduced - the TR-55 transistor radio. The success of this receiver determined the success of the brand. The next model was the first miniature receiver TR-63, the price of which was inversely proportional to the size. He did not have commercial success. By that time, components produced Totsuko other Japanese manufacturers begin to buy.

In 1958, the company officially changed its name to Sony Corporation, which is still in use today.

In the future, the focus was on two things - innovative developments and beautiful brands. The company owns a great variety of trademarks. Among them are world famousTrinitron, Vaio, PlayStation, Walkman, Bravia, cyber-shot, clie), as well as those known only to specialists.

The second half of the twentieth century was marked by the dawn Sony. A sort of "golden period". The company successfully develops new market segments. And others she creates. There are many unique devices and developments, analogues of which competitors will not be able to create soon.

In his book "Just for fun", the creator of the operating system linux, Linus Torvalds read Sony great future. In his opinion, the corporation should have become for the world of electronics approximately the same as it is Microsoft for the software world. It is not surprising - in those years when the book was written (90s of the last century), Sony really developed at a rapid pace. In 1990 alone, more than 500 innovative developments were presented! Brand Sony became a mega-brand - many consumers often purchased electronics focusing only on it, not even paying attention to competitors' products. But…

To date, things have Sony things aren't as great as they used to be. The structure was too complicated, which did not allow adequately and quickly responding to new market trends, and confidence in one's own steadfastness. The policy of imposing one's own standards also played a negative role. The company, which has always been considered one of the most innovative, suddenly ceased to have time to respond to the technical trends of the market. As a result, the leading positions in many areas were lost - portable players (now Apple), televisions (Samsung), gaming consoles (Nintendo). The alliance with the Swedish Ericsson, — brand Sony Ericsson failed to properly influence the market (Nokia, Samsung, LG, HTC, Apple). The main competitor unexpectedly turned out to be a South Korean conglomerate Samsung, bypassing the Japanese in many areas.

The most important thing that was not taken into account in Sony - this is the fact that modern users are no longer interested in a "loud" brand, but in high functionality, even if to some extent to the detriment of quality. There are fewer people willing to pay large sums only for a beautiful label. SonyStyle lost its former attractiveness, although it has not faded completely. Yes, and in professional technology Sony plays a significant role. But Torvalds' prediction was not destined to come true.

The company's headquarters is located in Tokyo, Japan (Tokio, Japan). Sony Group - a complex structure with many divisions and subsidiaries. The controlling company is Sony Corporation. The main production area is electronics, but the company also plays a significant role in the mass media, being engaged in television and radio broadcasting and film production.

Interesting Facts:

In 1946, the main income of the young company was brought by an electrically heated pillow, which was sold under the brand name Ginza Heating Company. The reason for the appearance of this brand is anecdotal - being completely unsure of the quality of this product, the friends decided to use a different name, so that in case of failure they would not bring problems to the main one, destroying the reputation of the company, which had just begun to get on its feet. To their credit, it should be noted that these pillows turned out to be very personal.