1) In 1938, Lee Byung-Chull launched Samsung in South Korea as a grocery shop.
2) In 1940, due to tight competition, Samsung abandoned grocery for producing and selling of noodles.
3) In 1950, Samsung abandoned production of noodles for producing of sugar.
4) In 1954, Samsung left sugar and started a woolen mill in Korea.
5) In 1956, Samsung abandoned woolen mill and started selling Insurance and securities.
6) In 1960, Samsung left selling of insurance and securities for production of television – the black and white television. Not color television.
7) In 1980, Samsung switched to telecoms, producing telephone switch boards.
8) In 1987, Lee the founder and owner of Samsung died. The company now broke into four independent companies- department stores, chemicals & logistics, paper/telecom and electronics.
9) In 1993, there was heavy recession and Asian markets went belly up, Lee’s son who had succeeded him as the CEO of Samsung began downsizing, selling subsidiaries and merged the rest.
10) With the merging of the electronics, engineering and chemicals division, Samsung became the worlds largest producer of memory chips.
11) In 1995, Samsung switched to liquid-crystal displays and over the next 10 years became the worlds largest manufacturer of flat screen television.
12) In 2010, with liquid crystal displays becoming competitive, Samsung launches a 10 year growth strategy, with smartphones being a key focus.
13) In 2016, Samsung is world’s largest mobile and smart phone maker, outselling iPhone two to one. Samsung sales today is more than $250 billion and produces more than fifth of South Korea’s total exports.
Lessons:
1. Adapt. Things may not go as plan. Don’t sulk. Change it and make it work!
2. Patience. It’s going to take time. If you don’t have the patience, don’t do it. Remember, the trees that bend survive the storm.
