They started by making radio tracks: The story of Sony's establishment
Now it's going down - founded by Sony, Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, which are the subject of its sinking gossip. Its name came from the Latin "sonus". Once a giant company, now it's having a hard time.
Akio Morita (1921-1999) was born in a wealthy family in Nagoya. He's been interested in machines and radios since he was a kid. Energetic and friendly, Morita went to Tokya to rest for a while after World War 2. And here he met his soldier friend Masura Ibuka (1908-1987).
Co-founder Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka originally founded the company in 1946, called Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corp. Founded with a capital of $500, with 20 employees, this company produced short-wave radio parts, while "Sony" was named in 1958. It means "sonus", which means sound in Latin. Ibuka looked at technical parts of the Sony brand; Monita was interested in media and marketing.
Sony's transistor radio
In the early '1950, Ibuka went to America and saw the transistor, the invention of Bell Labs. He managed to convince Bell Labs to take the transistor's license and use it in his own company. Ibuka considered using this invention to communicate.
The brand launched the Sony TR-55 in August 1955. This product became Japan's first transistor radio. In December of the same year, the company launched the Sony TR-72. This product has received great interest both domestically and abroad. At the same time, this product has become the most popular radio in the 60 years with many features.
This radio has also become pocket radios in the following period, especially when it's time for Rock'n Roll, which has a positive impact on sales. The company launched the TR-65 model in 1957. This radio was the smallest transistor radio of the time, and it was recorded as a worldwide commercial success.
The first Sony television and CD
In 1960, the Sony brand revolutionized television, like radio. It produced the first transistor television in 1959. But this product was not able to sell, both expensive and not very robust. In 1968, the company produced color television at a lower price, and making it easier for television to enter human life.
In 1975, the VCR format was invested, but its opponent could not stand the VHS format of Panasonic. Despite that, it has made good profits. And +18 enabled the tapes to come out. In 1985, the first video cameras were produced. In 1982, the first CD sale was made, and 5 years later, the CD sale managed to pass record sales. Behind CD technology was Norio Ohga, the chairman of the Sony board from 1982-1985. Ohga, a true opera singer, has allowed CDs to store data that takes 75 minutes.
Technological products
Built as a small cassette player, the Walkman was first introduced by Akio Morita, one of the founders in 1979. Unnoticed Walkman started to sell when it went on sale with music recording. And in 1980, it moved the Sony brand around the world to high spots.
The brand has always aimed at producing durable and expensive products. After the Walkman, a mini TV called Watchman and a tiny CD player called Discman were produced. The Sony brand, which had nearly 4 thousands of employees in 1960, has now become a major brand thanks to hundreds of thousands of employees.
Changes in the brand
In 1990, Norio Ohga and Nobuyuki Idei took part in company management and helped the company achieve stronger marketing. Important developments have been made in terms of technology. The Sony brand, which provided a huge market in the United States, has become a major competitor against China in 1995. At the same time, the company has co-operated with its competitors. For crystal screen design for plasma TVs, Samsung partnered with its company for $3.1 billion. The mobile phone production business was entered with Ericsson. Thanks to the deal with Toshiba and IBM, chip production was made for computer technologies.
The brand introduced PlayStation 1 technology to users, with its entry into the gaming industry thanks to chief engineer Ken Kutagari in 1994. It first went on sale in 1994. And in 1998, a profit of 5 billion was made. This technology has created a great world of success. PlayStation models have become one of the most important products in the game industry around the world.
In the late 1980 years, the Sony brand also entered the film studio sector, purchasing Columbia Pictures at a price of $3.4 billion. At the same time, it bought Columbia Records for 2 billion dollars, and Michael Jackson made albums of legendary names like George Michael.
In 2004, after the MGM company was purchased at around 3 billion dollars, James Bond films, many superhero characters and important film series were brought to the cinema and a major industry development was achieved. Superdbad, Casino Royal, the Da Vinci Code and Spider Man 3 made great success in 2006. By the time of 2008 years, Sony has joined many production companies and has become the world's largest television creator.
The Sony brand, which has achieved many successes and earnings over the years, is now having a hard time and is subject to sinking rumors.