Introduction:

1.

-Istoric Sony(mondial)
-Istoric Sony(in Romania)
-Argumente de ce am ales Sony pentru prezentare

Sony is one of the world's most widely known electronics companies. Founded in Japan, the company
has grown from humble roots to a multinational giant. From the tape player to the Walkman to OLED
TV, Sony's tradition of innovation has made it a profitable company for more than 60 years. Kazuo Hirai,
who joined the company in 1984 and worked his way up through its media and consumer electronics
divisions, became its president and CEO in 2012.

Founding

Sony was founded after World War II in 1946 in Tokyo under the name Tokyo Telecommunications
Engineering Corp. by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita. The company started with less than 200,000 yen--
slightly more than $1,500--and began researching. In less than a year, the company released its first
product, a power megaphone. In 1950, it released Japan's first tape recorder.

Going Global

When Sony looked to go global with its products in the mid-1950s, it looked for a new name because the
initials TTK were already taken. The company came up with its name by combining the Latin word for
sound, "sonus," and the American word "sonny." The company wanted a word that was not found in any
language for trademarking reasons. Many within the company questioned the change because of the
time spent on making its original name known in the business world, but in 1958, the name was officially
changed to Sony Corp. In 1960, Sony launched its U.S. branch. Eight years later, Sony opened a branch in
the United Kingdom. The company continued to grow in the 1970s, when it expanded into Spain and
France in 1973. German operations were started in 1986.
Original Products

Sony has a long history of introducing technologies. In 1955, Sony introduced Japan's first transistor
radio, the TR-55. Soon after, the company launched a pocket-sized transistor radio. In 1960, Sony
released the world's first direct-view portable TV, the TV8-301. The company continued improving the
TV and within two years produced the tiniest all-transistor TV. In 1989, Sony released the Handycam, a
portable, easy-to-use, 8 mm camcorder. In 2003, the company released the world's first Blu-ray disc
player. In 2005, Sony upgraded the Handycam to the High Definition Handycam, creating the world's
smallest video camera.

Walkman

Arguably Sony's most influential product was the Walkman, first released in 1979. The small, lightweight
portable tape player revolutionized the way people listened to music, by making at an individual and
personal rather than a shared experience. In 1984, Sony followed that initial success with its release of
the Discman, the company's first portable CD player. The company's dominance faded as tapes and CDs
gave way to digital music, but the Walkman's influence can be seen in modern mobile devices.

Content and Media

Sony is also a major player in the music and film industries through its Sony Music and Sony Pictures
divisions. Sony Music began as a joint venture with American label CBS in 1968, but became a wholly-
owned subsidiary of Sony in 1988. The company acquired filmmaker Columbia Studios in 1989, along
with the rights to its back catalogue of movies, making Sony Pictures Entertainment an immediate force
in the industry. These two divisions represent more than diversification on Sony's part, forming part of a
deliberate corporate strategy. Controlling its own content ensured that Sony's technological innovations
would never be thwarted by lack of industry support, as Blu-ray's triumph over the rival HD-DVD format
would illustrate.

Gaming Success

Rivals Nintendo and Sega resurrected the gaming console market in the late 1980s, after the spectacular
crash of early pioneers such as Atari. Seeing the potential for a new contender with deep pockets and
superior technological expertise, Sony formed a new division called Sony Computer Entertainment in
1993 to exploit this market niche. Its Playstation line of consoles and their portable counterparts have
proven to be reliable moneymakers for the company.
Sony Today

As of March 2013, Sony employed more than $146,000 people worldwide. The company's year-end
revenue in March 2014 was over $7.5 billion, with an operating loss for the year of over $1.2 billion U.S..
Much of that loss came from the company's decision to shut down its troubled PC manufacturing
operation, as well as lower-than-expected sales of smartphones and ongoing price pressure from lower-
cost rivals in its audio and video divisions. Its mobile communications division, gaming division, imaging-
products division and Sony Pictures division remain strong, providing the bulk of the company's
projected revenue growth for 2015.

Our story

Akio Morita, a young physicist, and Masaru Ibuka, an engineer, first meet each other at research
committee sessions during the Second World War. The two men become close friends, though Ibuka is
more than a dozen years older. However, sometime before the end of the war, they go their separate
ways and lose touch.

A new enterprise

September 1945, and Masaru Ibuka returns to post-war Tokyo. Based in a room on the third floor of
Shirokiya department store, he establishes a new business with a small group of engineers. The
company is called Tokyo Tsushin Kenkyujo (Tokyo Telecommunications Research Institute), known
simply as Totsuken.

After the war the Japanese are hungry for news from around the world, so demand for radios is rapidly
increasing. Many people have war-damaged radios, or sets with the shortwave unit disconnected by the
military police to prevent them receiving enemy propaganda. Totsuken repair these radios and make
shortwave adapters to convert medium frequency units into all-wave receivers.

The shortwave adapters attract wide attention, and Japan’s leading broadsheet newspaper, Asahi
Shimbun, runs a feature on the products’ popularity. Demand for the shortwave adapters increases.

An important reconnection
Perhaps more significantly, the Asahi Shimbun feature is read by Akio Morita, Ibuka’s young physicist
friend from the wartime research committee. As soon as Morita reads the article mentioning Ibuka's
name, he writes to the elder engineer, who replies at once, urging Morita to come to Tokyo and join him
as a business partner at Totsuken. Since Morita has been offered a job as a lecturer at the Tokyo
Institute of Technology, he immediately moves to Tokyo to renew their acquaintance.

Totsuken to Totsuko

On 7 May 1946, the reunited Ibuka and Morita partner to form a new electrical equipment company,
the Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation), also known as
Totsuko.

The partners invest the equivalent of ¥190,000 (around £1,200) into Totsuko, starting with a workforce
of just 20 people. Initially, there is no machinery and little scientific equipment, and Totsuko’s main
business is adapting radios and making vacuum-tube voltmeters, the latter of which the company begin
to supply in greater volume to government offices.

In 1950 Totsuko launch Japan’s first tape recorder, the G-Type, an entirely new consumer device that is
the first to introduce the idea of recording, storing and replaying experiences. It will be the first of many
tape recording and playback innovations the company will produce throughout the '50s and the
following four decades.

From the early 1950s, Totsuko also begins to explore and fulfil the potential of new transistors, made
available for patent in 1952 – four years after their invention by Totsuko’s parent company, Western
Electric. In 1954, Iwama-san, one of Totsuko’s board directors, leads a transistor radio research
development team to the United States, visiting and reporting from Western Electric's factory. Iwama-
san’s report spurs Totsuko to develop transistor radios, an innovation that paves the way to silicon
semiconductors and television.

A unique vision
From the beginning, Ibuka and Morita are global thinkers, and know Totsuko needs to make the whole
world its marketplace. Their true vision is to develop, design and create products that will forge entirely
new markets – not only in Japan, but all around the world.

To expand the business within key markets in the US and across Europe, they realise the need for a
global identity and brand that crosses cultural borders. Totsuko was found to be difficult for Westerners
to pronounce, so they begin to conceive a new name for their company. Initially Morita and Ibuka
consider using TTK, the initial of their company, but it’s already the name of a Japanese railway
company. ‘Tokyo Teltech’ is considered, until Morita discovers that an American company use the
‘Teltech’ name.

The sound of a new spirit

Two concepts are chosen to create the name ‘Sony’: the Latin word ‘sonus’, which is the root of the
words ‘sound’ and ‘sonic’, and the phrase ‘sonny boy’, describing a young person with a free and
pioneering spirit.

The new name perfectly captures the mood of the company as a group of energetic people with the
expertise and passion for unlimited innovation.

Crucially, Morita insists that the new Sony name is prominent on all products and packaging, maximising
the power of the brand. In 1955 the first Sony branded product goes on sale, the TR-55 transistor radio,
shortly followed in 1957 by the pocket-sized TR-63, the world’s smallest radio. Then, in 1958, Totsuko
officially changes its name to Sony Corporation.

Innovation upon innovation

If the 1950s is the age of radio and tape innovation for Sony, the 1960s is the age of television and video
technology. In 1960 Sony launches the TV8-301, the world’s first direct-view transistor television; in
1968 the first Trinitron colour television; in 1971, the colour video cassette player; and the Betamax VCR
in 1975.
In 1968, the same year Sony launches the Trinitron, engineers create a 100 inch screen Trinitron model,
boasting flat screen technology: it is called the Sony Color Video Panel, and exhibited at the Sony
Building in Tokyo's Ginza. It is the world’s largest television receiver and the first to use a light emitting
display, a visionary invention that is some 40 years before its time.

In 1979 Sony produces the world's first portable music player, the Walkman: a product that signals a
fundamental shift in the way music is heard. Sony launches the world's first CD player in 1982, the first
consumer digital video camcorder in 1995, the next-generation high capacity Blu-ray Disc recorder in
2003, and the world's first consumer digital HD video camera in 2004.

Innovations continued in the 2000s with new Cyber-shot digital cameras, PlayStation games consoles,
VAIO computers, BRAVIA HD televisions, and Home Cinemas. These digital products herald a new era of
convergence technologies, working seamlessly with each other to complement people’s lives.

The future is now

In 2012 Sony unveils one of the first 4K Ultra HD televisions, with a resolution four times more detailed
than high definition taking you beyond the traditional limits of TV viewing. It’s an experience that
echoes the pioneering Trinitron model 44 years earlier.

We’re always looking to take technology further. In many ways, the history of Sony is a history of
innovation – a series of breakthroughs that have made history and redefined popular culture. This is
undoubtedly traceable to the spirit of Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka and, consequently, the company’s
ethos – to strive to do what has not been done before.

Sony’s belief in the power of the imagination – and its will to act upon that power – shines a light upon
its past and shapes the future.

Sony în România[modificare | modificare sursă]

În România, rețeaua de magazine Sony Center deține 8 unități[15] și a avut afaceri de 10 milioane de
euro în 2009[16].
Sony Centre este un lanț de magazine cu produse electronice marca Sony din Europa.

Sony Centre în România[modificare | modificare sursă]

În România, lanțul de magazine se numește Sony Center și este operat de compania New Link[1]. În
septembrie 2010, rețeaua de magazine Sony Center acopereau patru orașe din țară, respectiv București,
unde erau localizate șapte magazine, Cluj, Pitești și Sibiu[1].

New Link este o firmă înființată în anul 1994 și a avut o cifră de afaceri de aproape 10 milioane de euro
și un număr 85 de angajați în anul 2009[1]. Compania face parte dintr-un grup de firme cu activități în
domenii variate: comerț cu produse electronice, construcții, imobiliare, activități hoteliere, import și
distribuție materiale promoționale[1]. În anul 2008, compania a avut o cifră de afaceri de 14 milioane de
euro[2].

Akio Morita a creat conglomeratul japonez Sony, care a ajuns în 2013 la venituri de 75,4 miliarde de
dolari şi la circa 140.000 de angajaţi. Morita s-a născut în 1921 în Nagoya, Japonia, într-o familie care
producea de 14 generaţii sake şi sos de soia. Fiind cel mai mare dintre fii, avea misiunea de a continua
afacerile familiei, dar interesul lui pentru electronice a fost mai puternic.

Povestea fondatorului Sony. A lăsat afacerea familiei cu sake şi sos de soia pentru electronice

Povestea fondatorului Sony. A lăsat afacerea familiei cu sake şi sos...

A urmat cursurile Universităţii Imperiale din Osaka, pe care a absolvit-o cu o diplomă în fizică. În
perioada celui de-al Doilea Război Mondial, a fost locotenent în marina japoneză şi l-a cunoscut astfel pe
inginerul electrician pe nume Masaru Ibuka, care urma să aibă un rol important în viaţa sa. După război, i
s-a oferit un post de profesor la Institutul de Tehnologie din Tokyo, dar, după ce a citit un articol despre
Ibuka, care încerca să deschidă un laborator de cercetare, a hotărât să îl viziteze.

Vizita s-a încheiat cu un parteneriat, iar în 1946 cei doi au pus bazele afacerii Tokyo Telecommunications
Engineering în ruinele postbelice ale unui magazin din Tokyo. Ibuka s-a concentrat pe inginerie şi pe
designul produselor, în timp ce Morita s-a ocupat de marketing, angajaţi şi finanţare. Primul lor produs a
fost un aparat automatic de gătit orez, dar acesta nu a avut foarte mult succes, cei doi reuşind să vândă
doar 100 de astfel de aparate. Ulterior, şi-au propus să lanseze un casetofon, iar ideea lor s-a concretizat
în 1950. Au avut parte de un succes modest, datorat marketingului agresiv al lui Morita. Până în 1955,
Morita a încercat să conceapă designul pentru un radio portabil destinat pieţei americane, dar cel mai
mic radio pe care au reuşit să îl facă era în continuare prea mare. Antreprenorul japonez a rezolvat
această problemă îmbrăcându-şi oamenii de vânzări în haine cu buzunare foarte mari, astfel încât să
strecoare radioul cu uşurinţă în acestea în timpul demonstraţiilor.

Morita a început să conştientizeze faptul că numele brandului este la fel de important precum produsele
realizate pentru succesul companiei. Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering era destul de greu de
pronunţat, iar Morita voia un nume uşor de pronunţat şi memorabil. Toată lumea a crezut că este nebun
că voia să schimbe numele unei companii care avea deja un oarecare succes, dar în 1958 şi-a atins
obiectivul şi a schimbat numele companiei. Era inspirat atât de cuvântul latin ”sonus„, care însemna
”sunet„, cât şi de optimismul dat de asemănarea cu ”sunny„ (însorit).

În 1963, Morita a pus bazele subsidiarei americane Sony Corporation of America, iar în 1961 compania
sa a devenit prima companie japoneză listată la Bursa din New York. Morita s-a mutat împreună cu
familia în New York City în 1963. Voia să înveţe tot ce putea despre americani şi despre cultura lor, astfel
încât Sony să creeze produsele ideale pentru piaţa americană. Petrecea totodată foarte mult timp în
compania elitelor sociale americane, formate din oameni puternici şi bogaţi, atât politicieni, cât şi
oameni de afaceri. În anii ’70, casetofoanele portabile au devenit populare în America, dar erau totuşi
mari şi grele. Morita a avut ideea unui mic casetofon alimentat cu baterii şi dotat cu căşti care să
permită o libertate mare de mişcare. A creat astfel walkmanul, unul dintre cele mai de succes produse
electronice lansate vreodată, cu 250 de milioane de unităţi vândute de la debutul său din 1979.

Sony a devenit şi prima companie japoneză care şi-a creat o unitate de producţie în Statele Unite ale
Americii, iar de-a lungul timpului Morita a creat mai multe facilităţi de producţie, cercetare şi dezvoltare
şi centre de design în America de Nord, Europa şi Asia.

Mulţi dintre cei care l-au cunoscut pe Morita au spus despre el că era foarte carismatic şi atrăgea atenţia
tuturor celor cu care interacţiona. Abilităţile lui excelente de comunicare şi farmecul său i-au permis să
treacă peste diferenţele culturale dintre Japonia şi Statele Unite ale Americii. Era un workaholic, dar
practica şi sporturi precum schi, scuba diving şi wind surfing, chiar şi după ce a împlinit 60 de ani.
Pasiunea lui Morita era însă inovaţia. Sony a dezvoltat primul televizor portabil cu baterie, tubul de
imagine Trinitron, care a stabilit un nou standard pentru televizoarele color, cât şi VCR-ul.

Morita era interesat şi de diversificarea portofoliului companiei, astfel că a creat CBS/Sony Group, axată
pe producţia de muzică, iar în 1979 a intrat şi în zona serviciilor financiare prin compania Sony Prudential
Life Insurance. A cumpărat şi companiile CBS Records şi Columbia Pictures Entertainment. A renunţat la
fotoliul de preşedinte al companiei în 1994 şi a murit cinci ani mai tarziu.