Reimagining Business

Samsung, Nintendo, Hasbro, and Amazon are some of the biggest companies in the world today. Each of these companies had to undergo massive transformations to reach their current status. Samsung, originally a company that exported fish, was involved in several other industries before becoming a major player in the electronics industry. Similarly, Nintendo, a household name in the video game industry, started out as a playing card manufacturer. Hasbro, known for producing iconic toys and board games, began as a textile company before expanding into school supplies and educational toys. Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, started as a simple online bookstore in the 1990s.

In 1889, Nintendo was established in Japan as a manufacturer of handcrafted playing cards. They sold these cards for 70 years before their sales began to decline in the 1960s. Nintendo then decided to look for other avenues for revenue. They tried selling instant noodles, Lego-like building blocks, and even ran a taxi service. They even ventured into the business of owning love hotels. However, toys and entertainment ultimately proved to be their strength. Two men who played significant roles in the company's success are Yokoi Gump and Shigeru Miyamoto. Yokoi was a genius engineer and inventor who created the ultra hand toy, Nintendo's first home video game machine, and the Game Boy handheld video game system. Miyamoto, a young designer, created characters that would later become Donkey Kong and Mario. From 1981 till now, Nintendo became a video game company. Today, Shigeru Miyamoto is the general manager of Nintendo Entertainment and Development, which reached its peak market capitalization of 73 billion dollars in 2007. They've released several successful consoles and countless incredible gaming franchises, and currently have a box office hit movie in theaters.

Hasbro Industries started as Hassenfeld Brothers textiles in the 1920s and sold fabrics. Over the next few decades, the company expanded into school supplies, educational toys, and sold clay modeling kits. In 1952, they bought the rights to Mr. Potato Head, which was an instant hit. In 1964, they produced GI Joe for boys that didn't want to play with dolls, coining the term "action figure." In 1968, the company shortened its name to Hasbro Industries. Hasbro continues to make and sell licensed toys and action figures to this day, with movie tie-ins being some of their hottest sellers. Along with toys, Hasbro owns Parker Brothers, Playskool, Tonka, Monopoly, and several other iconic toys and board games.

Samsung began as a company exporting dried Korean fish, fruits, and vegetables to Manchuria and China. However, they diversified early on, moving into flower mills, candy machines, textiles, and life insurance. It wasn't until the late 1960s that Samsung became involved in the electronics industry. In 1970, Samsung produced its first black and white TV and decided to move into higher tech in the 1980s, exporting computers, VCRs, and tape recorders worldwide. In the 1990s, they moved into hard drives and digital memory, and today, Samsung mainly produces flat screen TVs and hugely popular Android phones and tablets. Samsung still has several businesses that aren't electronics-related, such as financial services, a medical center, and hotels and resorts.

Amazon began as a simple online bookstore in the 1990s. In 1994, Jeff Bezos took a quarter-million-dollar loan from his parents to start the company. By July 1995, Amazon was open online and boasted the largest collection of books anywhere on the web. However, they didn't stay with just books, and in 1998, they began selling music CDs.

Amazon is a global company that employs over 1.5 million workers. In 2006, Amazon launched a service called Amazon Unbox, which allowed users to watch content from Amazon's online library without having to own physical media. This service was later renamed Amazon Instant Video On Demand and eventually became Amazon Prime Video.

Lucky Strike cigarettes, a brand that was widely advertised on billboards, magazines, newspapers, and even in movies, was originally owned by the American Tobacco Company. Lucky Strike enjoyed success for many decades but in 1969, public perception of cigarettes began to change, prompting ATC to sell off its tobacco business and rebrand itself as American Brands under the holding company Fortune Brands. The company diversified its product lines, including office supplies, golf clubs, and even whiskey (Jim Beam). Fortune Brands later added a home and security division, which includes brands such as Master Lock and Sentry Safe.

Wrigley's chewing gum was originally a free sample that came with the purchase of soap and baking powder. The gum became much more popular than the soap and baking powder, prompting William Wrigley Jr, the son of the company owner, to suggest that they focus on selling the gum instead. By 1893, Wrigley's company was exclusively advertising and selling spearmint chewing gum, and by 1908, the gum was selling for over $1 million per year. This success led to Wrigley's becoming one of the biggest advertisers in America. In 1921, they were successful enough to buy the Chicago Cubs and build Wrigley Field, which still carries the family name to this day.

LG Corp is one of the largest conglomerates in South Korea, but the company had humble beginnings as Lacroix Chemical Industrial Corp, founded in 1947. The company expanded from chemicals to plastics and eventually established Gold Star Co to handle those operations. Lacroix and Gold Star eventually merged to become Lucky Gold Star. In the 1950s, LG produced the first radio in Korea and later expanded to make telephones, refrigerators, and televisions. In 1997, Lucky Gold Star rebranded itself as LG to better compete in Western markets and focus mainly on electronics. Today, LG is one of the biggest players in the world market for cell phones and HD TVs.

Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, started selling mail order vinyl records to undercut the high prices seen in record stores. He soon had his own record company and label, with the Sex Pistols among the headliners of the roster. By 1984, Virgin Atlantic Airlines had taken to the skies, and in 1993, Virgin added Virgin Radio to its diversification list. Virgin Mobile followed in 1999, and in 2004, Richard Branson announced the beginning of luxury travels to space with Virgin Galactic. The Virgin Group currently has over 400 companies in several different industries.

All of these companies have shown remarkable resilience to the ever-changing wants and needs of consumers. In the world of business, it's important to be flexible and able to adapt to the times. These companies have done just that, and their reinventions have been impressive in their own ways.