Samsung is one of the biggest technology conglomerates today, in the fourth quarter of 2019, it recorded a revenue upward of 50 billion USD and has presence in more than 75 countries across the globe. But the Samsung that we know today is massively different from the origins of the company in 1938 in Korea.
The company was founded by Byung-Chull Lee in Daegu, Korea as ‘Samsung Sanghoe’.
The business started with a mere capital of 25 USD in today’s terms. The first operations of the company were to export dried local fish, fruits and vegetables to Manchuria and Beijing in China. In just a decade they expanded to owning flour mills and confectionery machines and setting up the value chain for manufacturing and sales.
In 1951, Lee established Samsung Moolsan, which is now Samsung corporation. The next 20 years saw the birth of Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung Marine and Fire Insurance and others. And the biggest establishment of importance was in 1969 of the Samsung-Sanyo Electronics, which is what we know as Samsung Electronics today.
The first product that they offered was a black and white television set for the Korean market and the product was a massive success. They ventured out into all appliances including coloured TV’s, microwaves, refrigerators etc. They even acquired Korean semiconductors, now Samsung Semiconductors which is a crucial R&D hub for them now.
Ironically, the first phone that Samsung launched in 1985 was not a success, and neither was the second phone it launched. And it was not until 1999-2000 that they launched handsets which were a success in the market. And in 20 years, they have had huge successes and now control almost 23% of the world’s smartphone market.
The name ‘Samsung’ translated from Korean means three stars. This name was chosen by the founder because he wanted the company to become everlasting like the stars we see in the sky. And if today, he is looking at the stars in this cosmos, and the star that he created on Earth, he would surely be smiling 🙂
Image credits: New York Times
Past Present Continuous 