1st Edition 2020 | Page 134

The birth of Sony The TR-55 was Japan’s first miniature transistor radio that was introduced in mid-1955 by a little company called Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation). It was sold to the Japanese domestic market and didn’t exhibit the fit, finish, and quality that their later radios were famed for. In 1957, their TR-63 “Transistor Six” a shirt-pocket radio was all that changed when it was released internationally. Rather than shoehorning in traditional components, the TR-63 was designed around allnew miniature devices. Went on to sell over 100,000 units in four different colors, it was the tiniest radio ever manufactured, and set the quality against which future radio sets were judged. But this was only the tip of the iceberg. In 1958, TTK changed their name to Sony Corporation. “Sony” is meaningless in Japanese but they took the bold step of making a reputation that might exclusively define their brand. Their next pocket radio was even smaller and sleeker in what has become a typical Sony style. The TR-610 sold over 400,000 units – a huge figure at that point. But, most significantly, Sony established itself as a dominant force within the consumer electronics world. Achievement of Akio Morita A successful entrepreneur always reminds us of their great achievement in their field. The father of Sony Corporation Akio Morita is also remembered by most of us for his great achievement in the communication industry. Most of the Sony’s, success was contributed by Morita. Morita's inventive ideas and creative thinking was a breath of fresh air as he produced new cultures and lifestyles products which were groundbreaking ideas of the time. His product gives so much impact towards people's lives especially in the communication industry. He also wrote a book called ‘Never Mind School’ back in 1966 based on human resources. Some of his famous viewpoints in the book are becoming popular beliefs nowadays in Japan. His book gave so much impact to many people, especially the Japanese. Morita also received awards in his life as a recognition and contribution for his brilliant work with Sony Corporation. Because of his outstanding recognition he was given the Albert Medal by the UK's Royal Society of Arts in 1982. In 1984 Morita received the Legion of Honor and in 1991 the emperor of Japan gave him the first Class of Order of the Sacred Treasure. He also received awards from University of Manitoba with the International Distinguished Entrepreneur Award. Emmy Award also gave Morita recognition in 1973 for creating Trinitron TV-set technology. Even after his death he was still recognized as Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun. That shows how good Morita was until he received so many recognitions even after his death. Sony Walkman earphone is one of Morita’s product. Competition in the Industry SASARAN EDISI 82 134 Being a company with electronic devices that’s well known in other country and well established in the industry yet has many flaws and competition in the industry. Sony design game and manufacture game consoles, home sound, entertainment devices and some software for their customer. Huge companies tried to compete and Samsung Corporation is one of them, because they are known for their diversified manufacturing of durable electronic products and strong influence in their economic development and hence it is the biggest Sony Competitors. According to report by Hiroko Tabuschi at New York Times, Sony has slowed down their sales and profit and has been left behind by the ‘tech parade’ and because of the lack of innovation is a serious problem for them on that time Sony Corporation surprisingly been announced heading for 230 billion yen net loss in the fiscal year to March 2015 comes only months after it tipped a loss of 50 billion yen. This give them a huge total of loss in their shares. In 2015, Sony Corporation cannot find their own growth path. According to Kazuo Hirai, chief executive of the electronic group, he stated that Sony’s restructuring is on track and the company is on their way to a new phase of sustainable growth in the industry Challenges in building up Sony Sony has improved at a spectacular rate over the past few decades. Founded in 1946, the Japanese corporation has burst Hollywood and altered the globe of music. Despite the industry’s development, it is under pressure from decreasing average sale prices and continuing innovation. In establishing Sony, the multinational conglomerate corporation fights to discover its strategy in the speedy changing world while securing its content inthe maturing digital era. Sony also left laptops and PCs because it reforms its PC business then rebranding it to Vaio business to share