History of Sony

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Japanese multinational conglomerate Sony has a history stretching back to 1946.

Contents

1 Founding
2 Early radios
3 Development as export powerhouse
4 References

Founding
On 7 May 1946, after the end of World War 2, Masaru Ibuka started a radio repair shop in a
bomb-damaged Shirokiya department store building in the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo. The
next year, he was joined by his colleague, Akio Morita, and they founded a company called
Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo[1] (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation). The company
built Japan's first tape recorder, called the Type-G.[1] In the early 1950s, Ibuka traveled in the
United States and heard about Bell Labs' invention of the transistor.[1] He convinced Bell to
license the transistor technology to his Japanese company. While most American companies
were researching the transistor for its military applications, Ibuka and Morita looked to apply it
to communications. Although the American companies Regency Electronics and Texas
Instruments built the first transistor radio as joint venture, it was Ibuka's company that made
them commercially successful for the first time.[2]

Early radios
In August 1955, Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo released the Sony TR-55, Japan's first commercially
produced transistor radio.[3] They followed up in December of the same year by releasing the
Sony TR-72, a product that won favor both within Japan and in export markets, including
Canada, Australia, the Netherlands and Germany. Featuring six transistors, push-pull output and
greatly improved sound quality, the TR-72 continued to be a popular seller into the early sixties.
In May 1956, the company released the TR-6, which featured an innovative slim design and
sound quality capable of rivaling portable tube radios. The following year, 1957, Tokyo Tsushin
Kogyo came out with the TR-63 model, then the smallest (112 71 32 mm) transistor radio in
commercial production. It was a worldwide commercial success.[1]
University of Arizona professor Michael Brian Schiffer, PhD, says, "Sony was not first, but its
transistor radio was the most successful. The TR-63 of 1957 cracked open the U.S. market and
launched the new industry of consumer microelectronics." By the mid-1950s, American teens

had begun buying portable transistor radios in huge numbers, helping to propel the fledgling
industry from an estimated 100,000 units in 1955 to 5,000,000 units by the end of 1968,

Sony Group Headquarters at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo

Development as export powerhouse

Sony played a major role in the development of Japan as a powerful exporter during the 1960s,
70s, and 80s.[4] It aggressively expanded into new businesses, from film (Sony Pictures
Entertainment) and insurance (Sony Life) to banking (Sony Bank).[4] Part of its motivation for
expansion was the pursuit of "convergence," linking film, music, and digital electronics via the
Internet.[4] This expansion proved unrewarding and unprofitable.[4] Howard Stringer helped to
reinvigorate the company's struggling media businesses, encouraging blockbusters such as
Spider-Man while cutting 9,000 jobs.[4] Despite some successes, the company faced continued
struggles in the mid- to late-2000s.[4] It became known for its stagnancy, with a fading brand
name.[4]
Sony's headquarters moved to Minato, Tokyo from Shinagawa, Tokyo around the end of
2006.[5][6]

References
1. "Sony Global Sony History". Archived from the original on 28 November 2006.
Retrieved 16 February 2007.
2. Hongo, Jun, "Once one and only, Sony seeks to regain that status", Japan Times, 22 May
2012, p. 3
3. "Sony Global Product & Technology Milestones-Radio". Retrieved 16 December 2002.
4. Christian, Caryl, and With Hideko Takayama and Kay Itoi in Tokyo, George Wehrfritz in
Hong Kong, John Sparks and Michael Hastings in,New York. "Sony is Not Japan ; the
Appointment of a Foreign CEO is a Sign of how Far the Iconic Company has Fallen in
the Japanese Corporate Elite." Newsweek Mar 21 2005: 30-. ProQuest Research Library.
Web. 26 May 2012.

5. Suzuki, Kyoko. "Sony Considers Sale of Properties Including Former Headquarters."

Bloomberg. 3 August 2006. Retrieved 19 January 2009.
6. "Sony to close symbol of TV business.." Kyodo News International. 1 February 2007.
Retrieved 19 January 2009.
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