From Selling Flour and Textiles to Korea's Largest Company: The Story of Samsung

The history of the South Korean tech giant Samsung is not an example of quick success, but a thorny path against the backdrop of many troubles and conflicts of the past and present centuries. How the company managed to become one of the most successful in the world and the most successful in its homeland is in our article.

From Rice Flour to Electronics: The Origins

The founder of the future tech giant had an interesting path. Lee Byung-chul opened his first business in the 1930s. It was a rice flour company.

In 1938, he was able to establish the first independent channel for export from Korea to China and Manchuria. At the same time, Lee registered the Samsung Trading Company trademark, which survived World War II. But the conflict in Korea put an end to this business.

The entrepreneur decided to start a new business from scratch: first a textile factory was created, then a sugar factory, and later an insurance business. In the 60-70s, Samsung developed a new specialization – electronics. In 1969, Lee signed an agreement with the Japanese company Sanyo Electronics.

For 10 years, his company sold equipment partially under someone else's brand, borrowing technology and even buying finished parts from more successful competitors. In 1975, Lee registered a new brand, Samsung Electronics, and began to develop his brainchild on his own. The first TV under the Samsung brand was released in 1972, and by 1981, about 10 million units had been sold. And in 1983, the company launched production of its own semiconductors.

The founder of Samsung died in 1987 at the age of 77 from cancer. At that time, the conglomerate was divided into four independent groups intended for four heirs: Samsung, Shinsegae, CJ Group and Hansol.

But even without its founder, the company continued its rapid development. In 1991, the corporation introduced its first mobile phone.

Logo

On the first two company logos were three red stars. But Samsung management, recognizing them as inconsistent with the image of an international corporation, decided to rebrand. Then a new emblem appeared – a blue ellipse with the company name written inside.

Samsung's first logo was not in English, but in Korean. When the company entered the English-speaking market, a simple sans-serif font was chosen.

In 2015, only the company name remained on the logo, written in blue. The logo became one of the most recognizable in the world. According to the founder, the word Samsung means “three-star” or “three stars.” The word “three” represents something “big, numerous and strong.”

The corporation has its first trademarks in our country registered back in the days of the USSR. Since then, it has actively protected its intellectual property. For example, the names of the well-known rulers smartphones.

Patent wars

In 2010, Samsung managed to overtake Apple in smartphone sales. In 2011, the latter accused the Korean company of violating patent rights to technologies. For example, this concerned touchscreen technologies – multi-touch, as well as smartphone design. As a result, Apple won a lawsuit Samsung has a record $539 million.

There were other high-profile cases. In October, the Moscow Arbitration Court banned Samsung Electronics and its Russian subsidiary import and sale of 61 smartphone models to Russia due to a patent dispute with Sqwin SA. According to the company, the service violated its right to the invention “Electronic Payment System” protected by a Russian patent. In mid-March, the Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal overturned the ban on the sale of Samsung smartphones in Russia, and Rospatent annulled Sqwin's patent.

In June, Samsung was sued for infringing a patent on its Android battery life estimation technology. spoke Patent troll K. Mizra.

Samsung now

In January 2021, the company's CEO and grandson of Samsung founder Lee Jae-yong was arrested for his involvement in a scandal surrounding former South Korean President Park Geun-hye. He was sentenced to two years in prison, but later pardonedSamsung Group is currently run by Chung Hee Han and Ki Hyun Kyun. The company some divisions.

The corporation's capitalization is $342 billion, it is included in the list of 100 largest companies in the world. Samsung's revenue for the second quarter of 2022 compiled ” class=”formula inline”>59 billion. In August, the company registered G-nusmas trademark and named her mascot after it.

In Russia, the term “gnusmas” was used to ridicule Samsung. The corporation itself speaksthat it has five main principles: compliance with legal requirements and ethical standards, a clean corporate culture and transparent organization, respect at all levels, care for the world and social responsibility.

Drawing for registration of 5 trademarks.

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