Creation of the Sharp brand

Anjella Watkin
Anjella Watkin 11/3/2020 3:26:08 PM

Creation of the Sharp brand. The history of VESTEL ELECTRONICS. 


On September 15, 1912, a young locksmith Tokuji Hayakawa from Tokyo opens his own workshop for the repair of metal products. This moment is considered to be the date of the Sharp company foundation. The workshop team consisted of three people, including Tokuji himself. In 1915, a talented entrepreneur patented the original model of a mechanical pencil that did not require sharpening. The model was so successful that soon the number of orders for the supply of this product allowed to significantly expand production. Ever-ready-Sharp Pencil and gave the name to the company - Sharp, which means "sharp".


Earthquake in Tokyo

Already in 1913, the company began to produce an original mechanism for umbrellas, water taps. The production moved to a new building equipped with a mechanical engine. In 1923, Hayakawa Electric Industry Co employed more than 200 people and sold products for 50,000 yen per month. It was then that the company suffered a terrible disaster - on September 1, 1923, a powerful earthquake struck Tokyo. The factory was completely destroyed and Tokuji Hayakawa lost his wife and two children.


First radio receiver

However, by 1924, he opened a new plant in Osaka, the company's modern headquarters. In January 1925, Tokuji set out to start the production of radio receivers. With practically no experience and the necessary knowledge, the engineers headed by Tokuji assemble the first Japanese radio by April 1925. The mass production of the crystal based radio begins immediately.


The product is in great demand, and branches in Hong Kong and Shanghai are opened to meet the growing needs of the Chinese market. All Sharp factories now use the original assembly line production system, which allows a piece of equipment to be produced every 56 seconds. Sharp becomes the largest manufacturer of radio products in the Asia-Pacific region. The war between Japan and China, which began in 1937, increased the demand for radio technology, and by 1944 the production of radio receivers reached 150 thousand products a year. In 1942, the shortwave and ultrashortwave principle of radio transmission were invented in the company's own laboratory.


Postwar crisis

On August 15, 1945, the war ended with the complete surrender of Japan. The devastated, hungry and poor country was experiencing an acute economic crisis. This time for Sharp was marked by the loss of foreign affiliates, massive layoffs of employees. The company was on the verge of bankruptcy. Sharp was partially rescued by its public offering on the Osaka Stock Exchange. Nevertheless, by 1950, the company's debts were 4.5 million yen, and the value of one share was estimated at no more than 14 yen. And only the outbreak of the war between the United States and Korea gave the company another chance for recovery - large orders from the theater of war gave Sharp tangible profits.


By 1951, production had reached 430,000 radios, and the stock price had risen to 53 yen. At the same time, the company released the first Japanese black and white TV. By launching the mass production of television equipment, the company managed to achieve that the TV cost 175 thousand yen (for comparison, the average salary in Japan at that time was about 8-10 thousand yen). Sharp is one of the first companies to introduce free technical maintenance of the manufactured equipment, which allows to significantly increase sales volumes, production reaches 500 TV sets per month. By August 1953, 60% of Japan's radio and television equipment came from Sharp factories.


Developments of the sixties

The year 1958 began for the company with the opening of its own retail network, an active advertising campaign to promote the brand throughout the world, and serious investments in wave electronics research. In 1960, a new conveyor for the production of color televisions was launched, in 1962 - for the production of microwave ovens, in 1964 the world's first transistor desktop calculator was developed. The wave of novelties in mass demand is continued by the calculator invented in 1969, which operates on the basis of very large scale integrated circuits. 


Sharp LCD Monitors

One of the company's technological breakthroughs was the invention of portable computers in 1982. The modernized 14-inch version of the monitor in 1988 ushers in the era of widespread use of liquid crystal technology in computing. Further, almost all Sharp products are equipped with LCD monitors. Already in 1994, a 21-inch color Sharp monitor was produced with user manuals download PDF http://sharp.manymanuals.com/, in 1995 - a 28-inch monitor, in 1996 a Mebius laptop appeared.


Triumph of innovation policy

Today Sharp is one of the largest manufacturers of microelectronics and computer technology in the world. It accounts for about 40% of all manufactured liquid crystal monitors, the company has several thousand unique patents. An example of Sharp's development is the history of the triumph of innovation policy of the company's management, which allows it to be a stable market leader in its sector.

Anjella Watkin
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Anjella Watkin

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