The active development of the supply of food products, such as rice, sugar and dried fish, made it possible to officially register the Samsung Trading Company trademark. The foreign (for Korea) origin of the name was the result of the far-reaching, ambitious plans of the Korean entrepreneur: by the end of the 1950s, Lee Byung was going to establish trade with the countries of the American continent. And after the US troops landed on the Korean Peninsula, the products of the plant for the production of rice vodka and beer began to be sold to representatives of the allied forces. The Korean War put an end to this business. Warehouses were looted and burned in the same way as the main factories of the company.

There is a legend that on the ruins of a burned house, Lee Byung found a hidden box with money, which he invested in his new business. It was a textile factory, a sugar factory, and later an insurance business. Lee Byung grew rich quickly despite the fact that the average per capita income in Korea in the 1960s did not exceed $80. It is worth noting that at that time even in the capital, Seoul, there was no permanent electricity, electricity was supplied for several hours a day, and there was no centralized water supply. Not surprisingly, a quick military coup toppled Lee Son Man, president and close friend of Lee Byung, who, as a wealthy businessman, was part of the inner circle of the disgraced ruler. Lee Byung-chul himself was imprisoned for bribery and close acquaintance with the deposed president.

Samsung after the Korean War

New President South Korea General Pak Chong Hee initiated industrial and economic reforms. A program for the development of the industrial sector of the economy was developed, an increased focus on exports was reinforced by close relations with the United States, it was supposed to take foreign loans, purchase raw materials and modern technologies, and re-use the profits to purchase raw materials and equipment. The Korean reformers concluded that a stable economy should be based on large concerns, but they had to be created in as soon as possible, so the most prominent businessmen in Korea were given government credits and loans. They were secured by government orders, while certain legal and tax breaks made it possible for small enterprises to grow into vast conglomerates. Among the successful entrepreneurs was Lee Byung-chul.

Thus, 30 large companies were created (chaebols - "cash families"). Among them, in addition to Samsung, were Daewoo, Hyundai, Goldstar  (LG), etc. Each "money family" had its own direction: Daewoo - car production, Goldstar - household appliances, Samsung - electronics, Hyundai - construction, etc. d.

Company reform

The merger of Sanyo and Samsung marked the beginning of one of the largest sectors of the Samsung Group - Samsung Electronics. The company managed, albeit with heavy losses, to survive economic crisis 1980s. The price of the crisis - several non-core divisions, a sharp reduction in the number subsidiaries. With the advent of Li Gong Hee, a whole range of reforms was proposed, which included not only a complete restructuring of the company, but also a change in the very foundations of management: the company had to fully comply with the conditions of the free trade law. The proposals to change the policy towards external investors were supposed to increase the company's attractiveness for subsidies, as the conglomerate lost financial support from the state.

Until the 1980s, the shares of the companies belonging to the concern were circulated only in South Korea, while they were in rather low demand from investors. The reason is the traditionally Asian administration according to the principles of Confucianism: only representatives of the Li family were at the head of the board. The levers of influence on decision-making in the field of company management were completely absent from external investors. In addition, traditional management meant lifelong employment and promotion. career ladder for years of service.

Marketing changes were introduced, a complete reworking of the company's mission and a change in its symbol. The first two company logos featured three red stars. But the management of Samsung, considering the former logo inappropriate for the image of an international corporation, decided to replace it. It was then that the modern emblem saw the light - a dynamically inclined blue ellipse with the name of the company written inside. Excellent design and a large-scale advertising campaign have done their job: the logo has become one of the most recognizable in the world. Advertising students at leading universities are now studying the Samsung logo change as an example of an exceptionally successful rebrand.

When developing a new emblem, it was not without oriental philosophy. According to the representatives of the company, "the elliptical shape of the logo symbolizes movement in the global space, expressing the idea of ​​renewal and improvement." These changes continued until the 1990s. In 2015, only the name of the company, written in blue, was left.

Samsung Group financial report for 2006:

Group sales growth trends according to the company's annual reports:

General view of the profit distribution structure of the Samsung Group according to the report for 2006:

Companies belonging to the Samsung Group are engaged in electronics and microelectronics, chemical industry, construction, automotive, heavy industry, finance and loans, and insurance. The structure of the concern includes a full cycle of electronics production, from the extraction of resources, their processing and ending with finished products. Most of the divisions of the conglomerate perform subordinate functions in relation to companies directly involved in the manufacture of finished electronic products, and work exclusively for the concern or only within South Korea. This feature is clearly visible from the distribution of profits by divisions, thus, the main income of the concern comes from the electronics industry.

Electronics industry

More than 70% of the group's sales are in the electronics industry.

Companies in this division:

• Samsung Electronics
• Samsung SDI
• Samsung Electro-Mechanics
• Samsung SDS
• Samsung Networks

The electronics industry divisions of the company operate all over the world, most of the products are exported. The distribution of Samsung electronics industry business by region is as follows:

The divisions are engaged in the production of hard drives (HDD), random access memory, SRAM (including for the production of video card and processor chips), liquid crystal monitors, liquid crystal and plasma TVs, mobile phones GSM, CDMA, 3G standards and WiMAX support, equipment for IP-telephony, laptops, printers, MFPs, household appliances etc., the development of third and fourth generation wireless telecommunications networks, WiMAX.

Distribution of Samsung electronics industry business by technology areas:

It is worth noting the company's success in the US telecommunications market. In the third quarter of 2008, Samsung managed to take first place in sales of mobile phones, ahead of its main competitor, Motorola (Strategy Analytics), in the European market, the corporation also takes first place, displacing Nokia from it.

According to statistics from research company DisplaySearch (Q1 2007), Samsung Electronics occupies a leading position among the leading TV brands in the global market, similarly, Samsung remains in first place in the markets of Western and Eastern Europe and the North American region separately:

One of the most important areas, as already noted, is the creation of LCD panels (monitors) and TV, this is evidenced by the ubiquity of production. Samsung Electronics monitor manufacturing plants are located in South Korea (Suwon) (), Hungary (), Malaysia (), Great Britain (1995), Mexico (), China (1998), Brazil (1998), Slovakia (2002), India (2001), Vietnam (2001), Thailand (2001), Spain (2001), Russia (2008).

The main production in the suburbs of Seoul became loaded with the manufacture of displays top quality(out of all produced by the concern), this enterprise introduced the 6 sigma control system. Here they develop new models, test, create the first series of products, and after successful implementation, they distribute the workload for the manufacture of a new product between factories around the world. This standard has been introduced at most of the concern's factories, for example, it is a corporate strategy for the operation of the Samsung SDI division.

In August 2015, Samsung launched Samsung Pay in South Korea. This tool will allow you to make payments using the brand's flagship smartphones that support data transfer via NFC.

Chemical industry

The structure of the chemical industry division includes five enterprises:

• Samsung Total Petrochemicals ( international company, joint venture with Total Group)
• Samsung Petrochemicals
• Samsung Fine Chemicals
• Samsung BP Chemicals (international company, joint venture with BP Chemicals)

The industry brings the concern about $ 5 billion a year. Samsung Total Petrochemicals is the most big company concern engaged in the chemical industry, it is a joint venture between Samsung Group and French company Total Group operating in the field of energy and chemistry. The petrochemical complex consists of 15 factories located in Daesang (South Korea), which produce household chemicals, chemicals general consumption, basic chemicals:

• paraxylene
• LPG, fuel

heavy industry

In the field of heavy industry, there are two divisions of the concern:

• Samsung Heavy Industries
• samsung techwin

The division brings about 10% of the concern's profit, as it works mainly for the domestic market of South Korea, in addition, part of the export goes to the USA and China. Among the main areas of activity of this division, it is worth noting the work on security structures, the development of new types of weapons, as well as the construction oil and gas pipelines, tankers. Among the major projects are the development of the KTX2 multipurpose training aircraft, the K9 self-propelled howitzer, the creation of the world's largest liquefied gas tanker and the Xin LosAngeles container ship.

Construction

The construction is carried out by one company of the concern:

• Samsung Engineering

The industry brings the concern about $ 2 billion a year. The division is engaged in the construction of offices and factories for the Samsung Group around the world, the implementation of third-party orders is a rarity. Among the structures developed and designed by this company, it is worth noting the building of the Samsung Group head office in Seoul, the tallest building in the world - the Burj Khalifa in the United Arab Emirates, the Petronas Towers in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, Taipei 101 in Taiwan, "Lakhta- center "in St. Petersburg.

• Light industry

  Samsung Cheil Industries, founded in 1954 as a textile manufactory, has been successfully transformed into a fashion industry leader in the South Korean market, as well as a manufacturer of chemical materials: synthetic resins (ABS, PS) and semiconductor display compounds. This company produces such fashionable Korean clothing brands as Bean Pole, Galaxy, Rogatis and LANSMERE.

  Marketing and Advertising

  Entertainment and Leisure Industry

  The entertainment and leisure industry is represented in the conglomerate by two companies:

  Everland Resort is located in Yongin, a suburb of Seoul. It is the largest entertainment complex in South Korea. The Shilla Hotels & Resorts is a five-star hotel chain operating in a strategic alliance with Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces (India). According to various travel agencies Shilla is one of the ten best hotels in the world.

  Payment system

  In September 2015, Samsung launched its own payment system in the US, Samsung Pay.

  It allows you to make cashless payments using your smartphone. To realize this possibility, NFC technologies are simultaneously used (to make a payment, you need to bring your smartphone close to the terminal) and MST, which allows you to use your smartphone as a regular plastic card with a magnetic stripe. To do this, the device has an innovative induction technology capable of generating a magnetic field similar to bank card. The terminal recognizes the field as a regular card and executes the transaction.

  Sponsorship and charitable activities

  Sponsorship in sports

  Samsung is the owner of the professional football team Suwon Samsung Bluewings, Samsung Lions baseball team, Seoul Samsung Thunders basketball team, Samsung Bichumi women's basketball team, Samsung Bluefangs volleyball team, Samsung Khan pro-StarCraft team.

  As part of its support for the sports movement, Samsung acts as an official sponsor of the Olympic Games, is a sponsor of the Russian Olympic team, the title sponsor of the Chelsea football club, supports the Russian Youth Olympic Team, and also organizes the Running Festival (since 1995), the Russian President's Cup golf and many other sports projects.

  Support for the Olympic Movement

  Samsung's involvement with the Olympic Movement began in 1988 when the company became the National Sponsor of the Seoul Olympics. Since the Winter Olympic Games in Nagano in 1998, the company has joined the group of World Olympic Partners. The company is the official sponsor of:

  • Summer Olympic Games in London in 2012;
  • Winter Olympics 2014 in Sochi;
  • 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

  Samsung and Chelsea Football Club

  The decision to cooperate was made in order to strengthen the position of the company in the field of telecommunication technologies in the European market.

  In July 2009, the company and the football club came to a new mutual agreement. The previous agreement was valid until 2010, but it was decided to prolong the contract for another three years. According to the official website of the club, the amount of the transaction was increased, but the exact figures are not known.

  Sponsorship in art and literature

  • Literary award "Yasnaya Polyana". Samsung acted as a co-founder of the Yasnaya Polyana award, founded in 2003. The winners of the award are the authors whose works awaken the ideals of morality and mercy in readers. The award is one of the most prestigious literary awards in Russia, designed to support writers, followers of the morality and ideals of L. Tolstoy, the ideals of humanistic prose and poetry, which express the centuries-old traditions of Russian culture.
  • Grand Theatre . Cooperation between the State Academic Bolshoi Theater and Samsung Electronics started in 1991. Thanks to this union, a large amount of modern equipment appeared within the walls of the Bolshoi Theater, the reconstruction and renovation of the halls and halls of the theater, the modernization of the technical base, and the improvement of scenery and costumes for performances became possible. From 2001 to 2001, more than $2 million was allocated for financial support by Samsung. Samsung fully finances individual projects of the Bolshoi Theater. For example, the staging of Verdi's opera Nabucco (2001), timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the great composer, or the revival of the ballet Carmen Suite (Season 230, 2005). For the latter, the famous choreographer Alberto Alonso was invited.
  • Hermitage . Cooperation began in 1997 . Samsung provides logistical support to the State Hermitage.
  • Center modern culture  "Garage" . Samsung is a technical partner of CSK Garage.

  Charity in Russia

  To date, Samsung provides financial and logistical support to 32 orphanages and boarding schools in the Kaluga, Leningrad, Rostov, Samara, Omsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Sverdlovsk regions, Krasnodar and Krasnoyarsk regions.

  Criticism

  Financial scandals

  In 2007, the former head of Samsung's attorneys, Kim Yong-chul, alleged that he was involved in bribery and perjury on behalf of corporation chairman Lee Kun-hee. Kim said that Samsung board members are training lawyers to be scapegoats in a "manufactured scenario" to protect Li, even though those board members were not involved in the case. Kim also told the media that Samsung "put him out of the game" after he refused to pay a $3.3 million bribe to a judge who heard a case in which two of the company's executives were found guilty. Kim testified that the company, under the names of almost 1,000 Samsung executives and under his own, illegally opened secret bank accounts, four accounts were opened to manage 5,000,000,000 won.

  In February 2017, Samsung Group CEO Jay Lee was arrested on suspicion of involvement in a major corruption scandal. Lee is accused of bribery official close to President Park Geun-hye for a government order. Prosecutors are charging Lee with embezzlement, foreign transfer of assets, and perjury. Park Geun-hye's presidential powers were suspended as a result of an impeachment vote held on December 9, 2016 in the South Korean parliament.

  Monopoly

  “You can even say that the chairman of Samsung is more powerful than the president of South Korea. The Korean people consider Samsung to be invincible and above the law,” said Woo Suk-hoon, host of the popular economic online radio in the article. Washington Post under the title "In South Korea, the Republic of Samsung", published on December 9, 2012. Critics have alleged that Samsung has beaten out small businesses by limiting choice to Korean consumers, and has sometimes conspired with other giants to set prices, intimidating those who tried to find out the truth. Lee Jung-hee, the South Korean presidential candidate, said in a debate, “The government is in the hands of Samsung. Samsung manages legal world, press, scientists and bureaucracy ".

  Viral Marketing

  The Taiwan Fair Trade Commission is investigating a case of false advertising by Samsung and its Taiwanese advertising agency. The case was started after the Commission received complaints alleging that advertising agency hired students to attack Samsung Electronics competitors on internet forums. Samsung made an announcement on its Facebook page, stating that it does not interfere with any expert reporting and is stopping online marketing campaigns, ad drafting, or internet forum responses.

  Notes

  1. Traditions East-West (Russian). Retrieved December 1, 2008. Archived from the original on February 5, 2012.
  2. Official website Samsung Group_Philosophy company (Russian) (unavailable link). Retrieved November 18, 2008. Archived from the original on June 19, 2008.
  3. Shin Hyun Hwak. South Korea: the hard road to prosperity. // Problems of the Far East. - . - No. 5 .
  4. The 100 TOP Brands(English) . Retrieved November 18, 2008. Archived from the original February 5, 2012.
  5. Official website Samsung Group_Symbol company (Russian). Retrieved November 18, 2008. Archived from the original February 5, 2012.
  6. Case: Samsung 1993 (indefinite) . Archived from the original on November 19, 2012.
  7. KRW/USD (exchange rate at time of reporting (January 2007): 955.18/$1; KRW/EUR: 1,199.31/€1
  8. Samsung Group annual 2006(English) (unavailable link). Retrieved November 18, 2008. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007.
  9. Alexander Prokhorov. Journey to the center Samsung // "ComputerPress". - 2006. - No. 12.
  10. News_Bureaucrats (Russian). 2008-11-07. Retrieved December 7, 2008. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012.
  11. Official site Samsung Electronics(Russian). Retrieved November 18, 2008. Archived from the original February 5, 2012.
  12. Alexey Maksimov. Samsung: bet on production // PCWEEK. - 2003. - No. 396(30) .
  13. Official site Samsung SDI(English) (unavailable link). Retrieved November 18, 2008.

Good day, dear visitors. In this article, we will find out where the production and assembly of the Samsung Galaxy S8 takes place. Most people know that the epicenter of the most low prices for work services, located in China.

Therefore, Samsung has not bypassed this market. But where else besides China, Galaxy S8 smartphones are produced, this will be discussed further.

Where is the Galaxy S8 assembled?

The original S8 smartphones are produced in three Asian countries:

• Korea.
• Vietnam.
• China.
• India.

Samsung was born in Korea, so many potential buyers near the lying countries are trying to buy Korean flagships, trusting this country. In fact, the location of the assembly of the smartphone does not matter, the production system is the same everywhere.

Does the quality of the Galaxy S8 depend on the country of manufacture

Let's be honest, now we are on the verge of debunking a myth, producing a bad product in China. Previously, everyone was one hundred percent sure that consumer goods were produced in China, and so it was. Now, the quality of goods from the Middle Kingdom is reaching a new level.

But since, the quality assurance will still be defended in the minds of consumers around the world, for another ten years. Manufacturers do not try to focus on the fact that smartphones are assembled in China, after all, reputation does its job.

However, in no way does the manufacturer's country affect the level of build quality of the Galaxy S8. Absolutely at all plants and factories, the highest, world level of compliance with standards, a single technology for the production of smartphones, is observed. Here, the quality does not depend on whether a top-end premium gadget is assembled, or an inexpensive phablet. All of them are carefully checked, because the good name of the whole company is at stake.

So, if you come across not a Korean, but let's say a Chinese or Vietnamese model, do not shy away from it, the quality of the company is the same. Here are the essential facts in its favor:

• The parts that are used in the assembly of the Galaxy S8 are absolutely identical for all countries and factories operating in them.
• Basically, all production and assembly processes are performed by mechanized robots. However, there is also a share of human labor. Workers lovingly put all the components and accessories of the Galaxy S8 into boxes.
• The enterprises have technical and laboratory quality control. The production line is regularly checked and tested for defects and possible malfunctions. Therefore, getting such models on sale is negligible.

So, summing up our review, we can safely say that the country of production does not affect the high quality of assembly and production of the Samsung Galaxy S8 smartphone. If you have a case for this, your opinion, we are waiting for it in the comments 🙂

May 2nd, 2015

The image shows a warehouse in the city of Daegu, from which the history of Samsung began.

Few people probably know that Samsung began as a shop selling vegetables. The founder of the company is Lee Byong Chul. Lee's shop sold vegetables and herbs grown in nearby fields. The company was making good money, so Lee decided to move to Seoul, where he worked as a sugar refiner and later founded a textile factory. Lee tried to make the word "diversification" his slogan. Samsung was involved in many things - the insurance business, security, retail.

Now Samsung, in addition to the production of various electronics, is engaged in the production of polymers, oil refining, makes tankers, military equipment and even cars (which are called Samsung). The company is also engaged in finance, insurance, textile production, owns a chain of hotels, resorts and amusement parks.

Let's remember how it all happened.

The ability to balance on a knife edge, instantly respond to changes and always be on the alert - these are the distinguishing qualities Samsung. Many Korean companies went under, unable to withstand all sorts of “cleansing” and persecution, and Samsung not only survived, but also became a transnational corporation.

According to the biography of the founder of Samsung Lee Byong Chul, you can shoot an action movie in the spirit of Jackie Chan. Your little trading company in 1938 Li Biong called " Three stars» ( Samsung Trading Company). It is said that this was done in honor of Li's three sons.

Samsung Group logo "Three Stars" (late 1980s - 1992)

At that time, this company did not even think about any high technologies, quietly supplying rice, sugar and dried fish to China and Manchuria. It looked like a protest against dependence on Japan, and Samsung gained a reputation as a patriotic entrepreneur. During World War II, the United States landed on the Korean Peninsula and liberated South Korea from the Japanese. By this time, Li Biong had a large production plant rice vodka and beer. These products sold well to the American army and Li Biong's business went uphill. In 1950, a war broke out on the Korean Peninsula between the communist North and the pro-American South. And for this, the North Korean communists put Lee Byong-chul's name on the death list as an accomplice of the puppet regime.

If Lee hadn't smelled the fried food, reinvested all the profits, and turned all the proceeds into cash, then Samsung would have died. How the money stuffed into the wine box survived is a separate story. The car in which they were transported was confiscated, the house in which they were hidden was completely burned down, and the wooden box was only charred! And Samsung, as they say, has risen from the ashes.

The second time Lee was on the death list was under Park Chung Hee. Formally - for illegal enrichment on government supplies and economic sabotage, but in reality for having rubbed shoulders with the Japanese, trying to learn from the experience of the zaibatsu (chaebol in Korean, but in our opinion something like a powerful clan).

After a sincere conversation with General Li, not only was he not shot, but he was appointed head of Korean businessmen. Samsung has become a concern, mastering government orders and enjoying all sorts of subsidies and benefits.

In the 60s, the Li family expanded their business: they built the largest factory in Asia for fertilizer production, founded the Joong-Ang newspaper, built ships, hotels, universities and hospitals, and set up a citizen insurance system.

In 1965, South Korea re-established diplomatic relations with Japan. Lee Byong-chul reached an agreement with the Japanese leadership on technological support electronic industry that originated at that time in South Korea. As a result, in 1969, together with the Japanese company Sanyo, Samsung-Sanyo Electronics (SEC). She began to specialize in the production of semiconductors and a few years later became the property of Samsung. In 1970, cooperation with Sanyo Electric led to the merger of companies and the creation of a corporation Samsung Electronics.

In general, everything that happened before the 70s somehow weakly correlates with the image of a modern corporation, and Samsung-Sanyo Electronics, the first joint Korean-Japanese enterprise, can rightly be called its real predecessor. True, cooperation with those very zaibatsu turned out to be not the most successful - the Japanese clamped down on the latest technologies and shared only obsolete ones, and the prices for components turned up. This is one of the reasons Sanyo was removed from the company's name - it's just that Koreans have learned how to make semiconductors themselves.

Since August 1973, the main office of the company began to be located in Suwon (South Korea), and in November the construction of a plant for the production of household appliances was completed. At the same time, the Korean company Semiconductor Co.. joins the corporation, as a result of which the mass production of washing machines and refrigerators began.

In 1977, the company's export volumes exceeded 100 million US dollars. In 1978, the first Samsung office in the United States opens. In 1979, the first home video recorders were released. However, half of the cost of goods had to be given to the Japanese for the use of their technology and design. In addition, in other countries, Samsung products were sold under foreign brands or at very low prices.

As a result of the economic crisis that swept South Korea in the late 70s, Samsung Electronics started making losses. In response to this, Lee Kun-hee, the son of the founder of the company, decided to reform the company. He reduced the number of subsidiaries, stopped subsidizing departments, put the quality of products at the forefront. These transformations had a positive impact on the company's financial condition - revenues of Samsung Electronics grew again. At this time, the company joined Korea Telecommunications Co., which was renamed Samsung Semiconductor & Telecommunications Co.

By the end of the 70s, Samsung Electronics had become the flagship enterprise of the Lee empire, and in the late 80s, an economic crisis occurred in Korea, and the company became unprofitable.

Samsung again had every chance to cease to exist, but this did not happen, since Lee the second (Kun Hee) developed a rescue plan long before the crisis. It was planned to change everything, with the exception of wives and children. The key point in the restructuring was a shift in priorities - quality became more important than quantity. Perestroika lasted 10 years and was crowned with success. One company after another went bankrupt: Hanbo, Daewoo, Huyndai, and Samsung increased exports and established itself in the global high-tech market.

Samsung announced its first computer in 1983.

In 1983, Samsung Electronics launched its first personal computers (Model: SPC-1000). In the same year, the following were released: a 64M DRAM chip with a memory capacity of 64 MB; a player that could read regular CDs, CD-ROM, VIDEO-CD, PHOTO-CD, CD-OK. In 1984, a sales office was opened in England, a plant for the production of audio and video equipment in the USA, as well as a plant for the production microwave ovens(2.4 million pieces per year).

In 1986, Samsung Electronics received the title of " Best Company of the year» from the Korea Management Association. In the same year, the company produced the ten millionth color TV set, opened sales offices in Canada and Australia, research laboratories in California and Tokyo. From 1988 to 1989, the company opened representative offices in France, Thailand and Malaysia. By 1989, Samsung Electronics was ranked 13th in the world in semiconductor manufacturing. In autumn 1988, the corporation merged with Samsung Semiconductor & Telecommunications Co..

In the 90s, Samsung Electronics intensively expanded its activities. In order to improve the management structure, in December 1992, Samsung Electronics introduced one system presidential administration. In 1991-1992, the development of the personal mobile devices, and also developed mobile phone system. In 1994, the sales volume reaches 5 billion US dollars, and in 1995 the export volume exceeded 10 billion US dollars.

1995 can be called a turning point in the history of Samsung - the beginning of the transformation of the company into a high-quality brand. The symbol of this moment is a photograph in which 2,000 employees smash defective Samsung products to smithereens - 150,000 fax machines, mobile phones and other devices. Samsung Group survived the last Asian crisis in 1997 with a new president, Jong-Yong Yun. Sacrificing his tail to save lives, Yoon liquidated dozens of second-hand businesses, fired a third of the staff, breaking the practice of hiring for life, and staked on emerging digital technologies.

As you can see, while other companies were doing research and one after another released the world's first novelties - a CD, a transistor receiver, a video camera, etc., Samsung survived, struggled and developed. So it cannot be said about this company that in some distant year it came up with something innovative, and everyone fell in love with it. Hit Samsung products fall precisely on the current millennium.

It's even hard to imagine that this company once produced B/W TVs and other products at "reasonable" prices. Today, Samsung has become one of the most innovative and successful players in the consumer electronics and semiconductor market. It is the world's leading manufacturer of memory chips, flat panel displays and color televisions.

The company was a pioneer in the development of SDRAM, ultra-fast memory chips used in personal computers, and a special memory chip that is used in the Sony PlayStation 2 game console. The camera phone is the size of a credit card! Third generation phone that receives satellite TV programs! World's smallest multifunction printer! And what is most surprising, in the summer of 2005, the value Samsung brand surpassed Sony for the first time! This was calculated by one of the British research companies.

By 1998, Samsung Electronics held the largest share of the LCD monitor market and began mass production of digital televisions.

In January 1999, Forbes Global magazine awarded Samsung Electronics annual prize awarded Best Manufacturing Company consumer electronics ».

In the TV market, Samsung definitely surpassed not only Sony, but also Philips, and did it back in 2003. At CeBIT in 2004, Samsung wiped everyone's nose by presenting the world's largest 102-inch plasma panel (more than two meters!), In line for which even the head of Oracle, Larry Ellison, signed up. The LCD TVs of the new models were reviewed by magazines and experts, noting this in various categories such as "Best Buy" and "5 points". And the LN-57F51 BD LCD TV was even called the representative of a new era of TVs. Still, with it, even the room does not need to be darkened, since the quality of the picture does not depend on the ambient light.

It didn't take a week for Samsung to announce something outstanding. Like the world's first mobile phone with a built-in five-megapixel camera (now, of course, this is no longer shocking) or the same.

No company has such a set of proprietary technologies as Samsung. A little boastful, but it seems to be true, since Samsung is a real manufacturing company, not a sticker label on other people's products. Suffice it to say that Samsung is the only company in the world that manufactures laptops and monitors in its own factories, without relying on OEMs.

But Samsung is not only a high-tech factory, as it may seem, but also a recognized R & D center.

Byong Chul Lee, founder of Samsung Trading Co.

Byong Chul Lee died in 1987 of lung cancer. In honor of the blessed memory of its founder, a commemorative bust made of bronze and marble was installed in one of the Samsung offices.

Commemorative bust of the founder of the company

From the date of Byong Chul Lee's death to the present (with a break in 2008-2010), the board of directors of Samsung is headed by the founder's youngest son, Lee Gon Hee. His appointment to the post of head of the board of directors went against all Eastern traditions, according to which the eldest son inherits most of the family property.

Founder's son - Lee Gun Hee

At the end of 2012, Lee Gun Hee appointed his son Jay Lee to the post of deputy board of directors, effectively recognizing him as the heir to the Samsung empire.

Jay Lee is the heir to the Samsung empire

The post of CEO and Vice President of Samsung Electronics Co is held by Kwon Oh Hyun, who took office by decision of the company's Board of Directors on June 8, 2012.

Kwon o Hyun - CEO and vice presidentSamsung Electronics Co.

Today Samsung Electronics is a transnational corporation with offices in 47 countries and employing 70,000 people. The company occupies a leading position in the production of semiconductor and telecommunications equipment, as well as in the field of digital convergence technologies. The company consists of four main divisions: Digital Media Network Business, Device Solution Network Business, Telecommunication Network Business and Digital Appliance Network Business. In 2005, the company's sales were $56.7 billion and net income was $7.5 billion.

But look how history could turn. After all, Samsung could be the first to buy Android!

Let's remember 2005. There are no smartphones yet (at least as we know them now), operators control all content, a complete mess with operating system versions, and what works for Motorola is unlikely to run on Samsung. App developers are running from smartphones like fire, and those who want to do it are literally forced to write new code for each model separately, often more than 100 options at once.

The revolution, however, is in the air. Andy Rubin starts working on an operating system that was originally intended for digital cameras but has since taken over smartphones. He started as an engineer at Carl Zeiss but then worked on operating systems for pocket computers. He had the experience and support of several other engineers. In October 2003, he launches the Android project, but a year later the startup runs out of money and begins looking for investors.

We all now know that eventually Ruby comes to Google and everyone lives happily ever after. But few people know that at first Rubin went with the newborn Android to Samsung. The entire team of eight Android engineers flew to Seoul for a meeting with what was then the largest phone maker.

Rubin had a meeting with 20 Samsung executives where he introduced Android, but instead of being enthusiastic or just asking questions, the answer was silence.

What army do you want to create this with? You only have six people. Are you stoned? - that's what they said. They made fun of me in the boardroom. This happened two weeks before Google bought us, writes Rubin.

In early 2005, Larry Page agreed to meet with Andy, and after the presentation of Android, he not only agreed to help with money - he decided that Google would buy Android. The entire mobile industry was changing before our eyes, and Page and Brin watched with concern, afraid that giants like Microsoft would seize the initiative.

It's time for the fucking great stories. This time I will tell you the history of Samsung Corporation, how it started, how and where it went, and what it finally came to. To whom and to what does it owe its formation and how it looks now.
It all started around 1932, when young Lee Byung-chul, the son of fairly wealthy peasants and a graduate of the University of Tokyo, opened his warehouse in the small city of Daegu, selling rice flour. Yes, yes, if you want to be the biggest phone maker (like Nokia or Samsung) start a business that has nothing to do with it - make paper, sell flour, save kittens.

At that time, all of Korea was a colony of Japan, which in every possible way stifled the spirit of entrepreneurship, because of which the country was in fact a very large garden with a very poor population.
cheap work force gave out excellent prices for goods, and by 1938 our hero was the first to carry flour to China. Things went well and the peasant began to carry not only flour, but also rice, sugar, fish and other people need to survive nonsense, taking it away from the poor Korean workers. It was then, in 1938, that the trademark Samson Trading (namely, how the name Samsung is pronounced correctly)

Samsung in translation means "three stars", which you can see on all early versions of the logo. There is a beautiful legend that the name was given in honor of his three sons, but the trouble is that in 38 he did not have them yet and he hardly even thought about it.

Things were going uphill and by the beginning of World War II, Lee was fully armed: when American troops landed on the peninsula, his factories that produced all kinds of hats were quickly converted into factories that produce beer and vodka, which good-natured and wealthy Americans were happy to buy at even rather inflated prices, creating wealth for Lee Byung.

In 1950, the Korean War began - North Korea against South Korea. The entrepreneur's warehouses and factories were burned or looted, and Lee himself is on the northerners' death list for aiding and bribery to the then (and first) president of South Korea. Chul, realizing that things are bad, is going to run south.

There is another legend, which gradually grows into two. One by one, he collects all the money and gives it to his driver, whom he sends south, but the driver is caught in the middle of the journey and taken prisoner. However (!) he manages to hide the money in one of the houses, which later (!) burned down, but the chest with the money, by a lucky chance (!) survived and Lee Byung later miraculously (!) finds it.
According to the second legend, Chhun accidentally (!) finds someone else's burnt house and someone else's money in a chest, which he later uses to regenerate his business.
These are the Korean legends.

After the capture and execution of the first, evil president of South Korea, a second, kind one comes to power, who begins a series of industrial and economic reforms. In particular, an attempt was made to replace the import of goods own production. To do this, the president asked the United States thousands of money for development, in fact, brazenly poking them and spending on women and booze. Our hero did not get booze and heifers, but in addition to money, the United States also distributed orders for the production of any product on which the newly recreated Samsung could make good money. It was during this period and under these orders that companies such as Daewoo, LG (formerly GoldStar) and Hyundai were created, rather big companies today.

By the end of the sixties, the founder of Samsung became the most influential and largest entrepreneur in the country. Realizing that the story with the president and his factories could repeat itself, he begins to travel to Japan, establish contacts with the local mythiose traders, and Sanyo becomes the first sign, uniting with which Samsung receives the Group prefix and the Samsung Electronics branch.

While the head of Samsung was traveling around Japan, there was another coup in his homeland, and again an evil president was in power! Lee Byong, without losing a moment, talks with the new president and convinces him that it is his company that is able to lead the country out of crisis, wars and bring happiness and joy in the future and throughout the planet. But for this it was necessary to make him the head of the economy, and his company to give the best and largest orders. And the president agreed.

Here it is worth making a note about the personality of the protagonist. He was a cunning, crafty man. Only his desire for profit and life saved his skin and literally begged for such privileges. You should not think that he was a kind entrepreneur who loved his employees and gained respect from the president.

Samsung Group begins to actively engage in the production of paper (the government gave Samsung the only paper mill in charge) and fertilizers (again, the only ones in the country), began to build and restore hospitals, hotels, universities, engage in insurance, and by 70 Samsung took up heavy production. The corporation, in fact, began to serve the country, continuing to increase Li's fortune.

In parallel with this, the company decides to enter new market- electronics, starting to assemble hair dryers and black-and-white TVs with the help of Sanyo. At some point, realizing that they can do all this without Sanyo, they say goodbye to the company, washing down their own components for TVs and hair dryers.

At the same time, democracy comes to the country (for real this time) and the flow of money and government orders stops, many institutions, such as hospitals and schools, go back to the state, Samsung has to tighten their belts. The entire board, which consisted of close and distant relatives of Lee, was dismissed by his own order and European and Western experts were hired in their places, who could not only preserve the current, but also increase (what was once found on the ashes , lol).

In 1983, the company begins the production of computers and components.
In 1987, the founder of the company, Lee Byung-chul, dies in Seoul at the age of 77.
By 1991, the production of mobile phones begins.

But most of all, Samsung, of course, "rose" on monitors and TVs, factories were erected in many large countries as soon as possible in order to fully provide domestic markets. So, for example, all Samsung TVs and monitors sold in Russia are manufactured at the company's plant in the Kaluga region.

Now Samsung is not just a multi-billion dollar company, but also a leader in many industries, collecting not only well-known phones and electronics. In addition, Samsung does not hesitate to continue to engage in chemical and heavy industries, build houses, cars, aircraft, ships, as well as issue loans and insurance. Samsung is an elegantly built corporation, with branches in different industries that not only generate income, but also help drive its main directions forward.

For example, a building subsection can build factories, a section light industry can sew clothes for workers at these factories, and the finance and credit department can insure life and issue loans. The automobile concern produces cars for various kinds of managers, and the plant itself produces the same monitors and televisions.

The experience that the company gained by lifting the country as it was intended was not forgotten, but, on the contrary, was applied with wisdom.

The history of the Samsung industrial group, one of the monsters of the modern global economy, began in 1938, then in a united Korea. An enterprising resident of the town of Daegu, the merchant Byong Chul Lee decided to expand his business and, together with Chinese partners, founded a rice trading company. Things were going well, the company was developing new areas of activity, the staff was growing, and in 1948 it was decided to give the company a fashionable "American" name: Samsung Trading Co.

The Beginning of Samsung - Daegu Trading Post, 1938

Semiconductors are better than rice

A real breakthrough in the history of the company occurred in 1969, when she, together with the Japanese company Sanyo, opened a workshop in South Korea to assemble black and white Japanese televisions. Already in 1973, a full-fledged large-scale production of various consumer electronics was established in the city of Suwon, and the joint venture completely passed under the control of Samsung Trading Co and turned into Samsung Electronics Corporation.

Having started its activity in the consumer electronics market almost from scratch, in a few years Samsung Electronics has taken a prominent place in it. By adopting Sanyo's technology and then focusing on semiconductors, the corporation has grown over time to become one of the largest and best-known electronics manufacturers in the world.

Today it is difficult to find an industry in which Samsung divisions are not involved. Literally everything is produced under this brand: from microwaves and toasters to digital cameras and stereos, from cars to ocean-going ships and aircraft. On the domestic market In South Korea, Samsung Group is also engaged in financial transactions, insurance and security activities, as a result of which it forms more than 50% of the country's total budget. Almost half a million employees work in the corporation's representative offices around the world, and the South Korean city of Suwon, where the headquarters of Samsung Electronics is located, has long been called "Samsung City".

Difficulties in translation

There is no unambiguous version about the origin of the word samsung (pronounced “samson”), however, the most common version is that it means “three stars” in Korean. Perhaps the choice of name is related to the three sons of the founder of the company Byong Chul Lee, one of whom, Kun Hee Lee, heads industrial group currently.

By the way, the image of three stars was present on the early logos of the company. But in 1993, Samsung, having considered the former logo as inconsistent with the image of an international corporation, decided to replace it. It was then that the modern emblem familiar to us saw the light - a dynamically inclined blue ellipse with the name of the company written inside. Excellent design and a large-scale advertising campaign have done their job: the logo has become one of the most recognizable in the world. Advertising students at top universities are now studying the Samsung logo change as an example of an exceptionally successful rebrand.

When developing a new emblem, it was not without oriental philosophy. According to Samsung marketers, "the elliptical shape of the logo symbolizes the global movement in space, expressing the idea of ​​constant renewal and improvement."

amateur photography

The business strategists of Samsung Electronics began to think about the fact that entering the market of amateur photographic equipment could bring considerable profit back in the mid-1970s. The result of reflection was the appearance of the first Samsung camera in 1979. The SF-A didn't have a lot of charisma, it was just a good flash camera that anyone could use. But the company did not seek to create a technical masterpiece - main goal was the production of simple cameras for the mass consumer. And the mass consumer responded with interest, as the first Samsung cameras were inexpensive for their class, quite reliable and easy to manage.

The further development of Samsung compact cameras kept pace with the development of photographic technologies: more powerful flashes appeared, motors for rewinding film, an automatic DX code reading function, red bulbs, which were credited with protection from the “red evil eye”, finally, full-fledged autofocus and zoom lenses distance - zooms. Acquiring all these innovations, Samsung products, however, did not particularly stand out among other cameras, but at the same time, in terms of functionality and quality, they did not lag behind the “classmates” models of the leading manufacturers in this area.

When developing amateur compacts, Samsung engineers were well aware that obtaining really high-quality images is impossible without the use of high-end optics. But starting the production of good optical glass from scratch is an extremely troublesome task that requires serious financial and intellectual resources. As a result, Samsung chose a different path: in 1995, it entered into a partnership with the legendary German optics manufacturer Schneider-Kreuznach, the name of which, displayed on the lens barrel, was a guarantee of quality for any person familiar with photography. Since then, the lenses of all top models of Samsung cameras have appeared with an unpronounceable combination of letters of the German alphabet.

Of course, no one made these lenses in Germany and then screwed them onto Korean cameras. The production of branded "Schneider" optics was established at Samsung factories under license and under the strict control of the German concern. As we know, already in the digital age, the Japanese went down the same path: Panasonic, which entered into an agreement with Leica AG, and Sony Corporation, which widely uses Carl Zeiss optics.

It is interesting that in the late 1990s, Samsung tried to compete with the “top five” (as a group of Japanese companies, leading manufacturers of photographic equipment were called at that time: Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Minolta and Pentax) in the segment reflex cameras, releasing its first DSLR - non-autofocus Samsung SR4000 with Schneider-Kreuznach optics.

The camera turned out to be very good, with thoughtful controls and a “grasping” body, and in addition to the standard fifty dollars, the Schneider optical line included three more zoom lenses. But, despite the obvious advantages, the camera traditionally did not have any bright features, which is why it was “lost” among copies of more eminent photographic manufacturers.

In the photo market, Samsung was still perceived only as a manufacturer of amateur compact cameras. So, at the end of the “film era” in Russia, three cameras from the Samsung model range were sold everywhere. The first and simplest is the Fino 40s with a 30mm f/4.5 fixed lens, flash and automatic film advance. The second, more functional, is Vega 700 with an optical zoom covering focal lengths from 35 to 70 mm. And the third, the most “tricked out”, is the Vega 290W, the main features of which can be considered a universal zoom lens with a focal length of 28–90 mm and the ability to control the shutter speed manually (bulb), which is dubious for such a camera. Agree, in order to be considered a serious photo producer, this is clearly not enough. But, as we can now see, Samsung had everything yet to come.

Digital Philosophy

“Samsung Electronics sees itself as a leader in the 'Revolutionary Digital Convergence Era'; our task is to turn this vision into reality by turning our company into a digital one - Digital-ε Company”, - this is how the essence of the philosophy of Samsung Electronics is formulated on the official website of the corporation. The company began to put this philosophy into practice in the 1990s in all areas of its activity, including the production of photographic equipment.

In 1994, the relatively compact digital camera Samsung SSC-410N was introduced to the public. The camera, shaped more like modern binoculars or a small video projector, was equipped with a 1/3-inch CCD-matrix with a resolution of 768 x 484 pixels, a zoom lens with an equivalent focal length of 40-120 mm and a built-in 4 MB memory module. However, this device went into production only in 1997, and a year before that, a compact digital camera of a more traditional design appeared in photo stores - the Samsung Kenox SSC-350N, which was also produced under the Apple and Fujifilm brands.

A CCD-matrix with a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels was responsible for registering images in the Kenox SSC-350N, information was recorded on a removable memory card in SmartMedia format. Otherwise, the device was quite simple even for its time: a plastic case, a lens with a fixed equivalent focal length of 38 mm, a shutter speed range from 1/4 to 1/5000 s, and the only possible ISO value was 100 ISO. But it was one of the first digital cameras costing less than $1000, so Samsung can safely be considered a pioneer in the production of digital photographic equipment - with the only proviso that the Kenox SSC-350N was not the company's own development.

The lineup of Samsung digital compacts, which could already really claim commercial success, was first presented at the PMA 2002 exhibition. a more functional Digimax 350SE, also equipped with a 3-megapixel sensor, and the 4-megapixel Digimax 410 closed this list.

In October 2004, gadget lovers were happy to learn that Samsung Electronics released the world's first camera phone with a 5-megapixel matrix resolution, and the following spring, the first Korean phone with a 7-megapixel camera appeared. But with the production of the actual cameras, things were not so great: they improved, but still remained only one of many. In order for the Korean corporation to be talked about as a prominent photo manufacturer, it was necessary to release a bright, truly innovative product. The development of such a product, or rather, a series of them, Samsung Electronics specialists began in 2005.

chocolate interface

After numerous marketing research The dream camera development team took three main opinions of potential consumers as a guideline:
- I don't know anything about photography, but I still want to look like a professional;
- I like the slim and elegant design;
- the camera is conservative in its essence.

In other words, it was necessary to create a series of technically flawless cameras with an outstanding design, which, nevertheless, would leave no one in doubt that you had a camera in your hands.

Orientally loyal to their corporation and westernly motivated developers literally settled in their office and became like zombies, raving about things that no one understands. More than five hundred sketch ideas were developed, tailored to specific specifications; they all turned out quite bright, but a catchy design alone was not enough: innovative solutions were required in the very principle of camera control.

Remembering this period, the developers admit that they survived only thanks to chocolate, which they then consumed in huge quantities. One day, one of the "office prisoners" was sitting at his desk, staring at the chocolate bar he had begun, and suddenly said: "We can make the menu navigation buttons look like a chocolate bar, consisting of nine smaller slices." Everyone took it as a joke, but then seized on the idea, which at first seemed to be the product of a completely exhausted imagination. This is how the principle of controlling the camera using touch buttons located along the LCD screen was born, which is significantly different from the usual four-button joysticks used in most other cameras.

This original, completely new user interface, coupled with a beautiful memorable design and rich functionality allowed Samsung's NV (New Vision) series cameras to become one of the brightest new products in the photo market in 2006.

Almost in the lead

Today, Samsung Electronics is one of the world's largest manufacturers of cameras. In 2006, the company released under its own name the first digital SLR Samsung GX-1S, the result of a partnership agreement with Pentax. Despite the fact that the GX-1S is an almost exact copy of Pentax's *ist DS2 model, its release speaks of the company's intention to win the attention of advanced amateur photographers. This became completely clear after Samsung's debut in the semi-pro segment with the 10-megapixel GX-10 SLR, also developed by Pentax. Amateur photographers have appreciated these efforts and are increasingly considering Korean cameras with a proprietary blue border as full-fledged and very competitive devices. This could not but affect the popularity of Samsung's compact cameras, presented in four series.

The recently updated NV series continues to bring together high-quality functional cameras with outstanding design and innovative controls, which at first, however, may seem too unusual.

The i-series is the most compact and stylish accessory camera for fashionistas, but not for photography enthusiasts. The universal L-series is a collection of high-quality fully automatic cameras. The S-series combines both the simplest digital compacts, which do not allow much intervention in the shooting process, and functional cameras with the ability to enter settings manually.

Generally modern the lineup Samsung compact cameras are extremely versatile. Most cameras, despite their modest size, fit comfortably in the hand due to the presence of a characteristic protrusion. Many models are produced in a classic black design, which cannot but please photographers of the old school, and simply lovers of the classics or the retro style that is fashionable today.

Well, and most importantly, almost all cameras (with the possible exception of the i series) belong to the case when a memorable design does not prevent the device from being really easy to operate and quite functional. Samsung's compact cameras have finally acquired a distinct personality: today it is difficult to confuse them with any other.