Wednesday, September 28, 2016

South Korea’s Samsung: The Makings of a Tech Giant

Samsung is undeniably one of the world’s fastest rising companies. But its humble beginnings were somewhat different from how people know the company today.

Founded by Byung-chul Lee in 1938, Samsung started as a Korean trade export company based in Daegu, South Korea. They sold vegetables, fruits, fish, and flour to Beijing and Manchuria. As the company prospered in the 1950’s until the 1970’s, it expanded into different ventures: insurance, petrochemicals, textiles, shipping industries, and electronics. The company released its first ever black and white television set in the 70’s, which made it a household name for those living in the South Korean metro.

Image source: gsmarena.com


The company soon released other electronic products including VCRs, personal computers, and tape recorders. In the 90’s, the company produced air conditioners, washing machines, and other home appliances. After chairman Lee’s death in 1987, Lee Kun-hee took over his post and became the head of the company. In the 90’s, the company grew and established plants and offices in different countries including the U.S., Britain, Thailand, Germany, Spain, and China, among others. During the IMF crisis of 1997, the company continued to grow because of its electronics sect.

Samsung’s continuous growth is due to its focus on electronics. The company launched HDTVs, Blu-Ray players, smartphones, and home theater systems in the 2000’s. Samsung also received a lot of attention after it released the Galaxy S mobile phones in 2010. It also released the Galaxy Tab the same year.

South Korea’s tech giant continues to grow by the day, and it looks like it’s not going to stop any time soon. Tech fans will surely have something to look forward to, thanks to Samsung’s releases.

Hi there, I’m Steve Sorensen. I like writing a lot about the net worth, investments, and other financial stats of different companies. Read more about the world’s largest companies by visiting this page.

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