Type | Public (Korean: 삼성그룹) |
---|---|
Industry | Conglomerate |
Founded | 1938 |
Founder(s) | Lee Byung-chull |
Headquarters | Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Lee Kun-hee (Chairman and CEO) Lee Soo-bin (President, CEO of Samsung Life Insurance)[1] |
Products | Consumer electronics, shipbuilding, telecom, engineering and construction, financial services, chemicals, retail, heavy industries, entertainment, apparel, medical services |
Revenue | US$ 220.1 billion (2010)[2] |
Net income | US$ 21.2 billion (2010)[2] |
Total assets | US$ 343.7 billion (2010)[2] |
Total equity | US$ 141.1 billion (2010)[2] |
Employees | 344,000 (2010)[2] |
Subsidiaries | Samsung Electronics Samsung Life Insurance Samsung Heavy Industries Samsung C&T etc. |
Website | Samsung.com |
Samsung Group (Korean: 삼성그룹 / Samseong Geurup / sam'sʌŋ gɯ'ɾup) is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul. It comprises numerous international affiliated businesses, most of them united under the Samsung brand.
Notable Samsung Group industrial subsidiaries include Samsung Electronics (the world's largest information technology company measured by 2010 revenues),[3][4] Samsung Heavy Industries (the world's second-largest shipbuilder measured by 2010 revenues),[5] and Samsung Engineering and Samsung C&T (respectively the world's 35th- and 72nd-largest construction companies).[6] Other notable subsidiaries include Samsung Life Insurance (the world's 14th-largest insurance company),[7] Samsung SDS, Samsung Everland (the oldest theme park in South Korea)[8] and Cheil Worldwide (the world's 19th-largest advertising agency measured by 2010 revenues).[9][10]
Samsung Group produces around a fifth of South Korea's total exports[11] and its revenues are larger than many countries' GDP; in 2006, it would have been the world's 35th-largest economy.[12] In many South Korean industries Samsung Group enjoys a monopoly position. The company has a powerful influence on South Korea's economic development, politics, media and culture, and has been a major driving force behind the "Miracle on the Han River". Many businesses today use Samsung's international success as a role model.
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According to the founder of Samsung Group, the meaning of the Korean hanja word Samsung (三星) is "tristar" or "three stars". The word "three" represents something "big, numerous and powerful"; the "stars" mean eternity.[13]
In 1938,[14] Lee Byung-chull (1910–1987) of a large landowning family in the Uiryeong county came to the nearby Daegu city and founded Samsung Sanghoe (삼성상회), a small trading company with forty employees located in Su-dong (now Ingyo-dong). It dealt in groceries produced in and around the city and produced noodles itself. The company prospered and Lee moved its head office to Seoul in 1947. When the Korean War broke out, however, he was forced to leave Seoul and started a sugar refinery in Busan as a name of Cheil Jedang. After the war, in 1954, Lee founded Cheil Mojik and built the plant in Chimsan-dong, Daegu. It was the largest woolen mill ever in the country and the company took on an aspect of a major company.
Samsung diversified into many areas and Lee sought to establish Samsung as an industry leader in a wide range of enterprises, moving into businesses such as insurance, securities, and retail. Lee placed great importance on industrialization, and focused his economic development strategy on a handful of large domestic conglomerates, protecting them from competition and assisting them financially. He later banned several foreign companies from selling consumer electronics in South Korea in order to protect Samsung from foreign competition.
Samsung started to rise as an international corporation in the 1990s. Samsung's construction branch was awarded a contract to build one of the two Petronas Towers in Malaysia, Taipei 101 in Taiwan and the Burj Khalifa in United Arab Emirates.[15] In 1993, Lee Kun-hee sold off ten of Samsung Group's subsidiaries, downsized the company, and merged other operations to concentrate on three industries: electronics, engineering, and chemicals. In 1996, the Samsung Group reacquired the Sungkyunkwan University foundation.
In the late 1960s, Samsung Group entered into the electronics industry. It formed several electronics-related divisions, such as Samsung Electronics Devices Co., Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Samsung Corning Co., and Samsung Semiconductor & Telecommunications Co., and made the facility in Suwon. Its first product was a black-and-white television set. In 1980, the company acquired Hanguk Jeonja Tongsin in Gumi, and started to build telecommunication devices. Its early products were switchboards. The facility were developed into the telephone and fax manufacturing systems and became the centre of Samsung's mobile phone manufacturing. They have produced over 800 million mobile phones to date.[16] The company grouped them together under Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. in the 1980s.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Samsung Electronics invested heavily in research and development, investments that were pivotal in pushing the company to the forefront of the global electronics industry. In 1982, it built a television assembly plant in Portugal; in 1984, a plant in New York; in 1985, a plant in Tokyo; in 1987, a facility in England; and another facility in Austin in 1996. In total, Samsung has invested about $5.6 billion in the Austin location – by far the largest foreign investment in Texas and one of the largest single foreign investments in the United States. The new investment will bring the total Samsung investment in Austin to more than $9 billion.[17]
Samsung became the largest producer of memory chips in the world in 1992, and is the world's second-largest chipmaker after Intel (see Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Market Share Ranking Year by Year).[18] In 1995, it built its first liquid-crystal display screen. Ten years later, Samsung grew to be the world's largest manufacturer of liquid-crystal display panels. Sony, which had not invested in large-size TFT-LCDs, contacted Samsung to cooperate, and, in 2006, S-LCD was established as a joint venture between Samsung and Sony in order to provide a stable supply of LCD panels for both manufacturers. S-LCD was owned by Samsung (50% plus 1 share) and Sony (50% minus 1 share) and operates its factories and facilities in Tangjung, South Korea. As on 26th December 2011 it was announced that Samsung had acquired the stake of Sony in this joint venture. [19]
Compared to other major Korean companies, Samsung survived the 1997 Asian financial crisis relatively unharmed. However, Samsung Motor was sold to Renault at a significant loss. As of 2010[update], Renault Samsung is 80.1 percent owned by Renault and 19.9 percent owned by Samsung. Additionally, Samsung manufactured a range of aircraft from the 1980s to 1990s. The company was founded in 1999 as Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the result of merger between then three domestic major aerospace divisions of Samsung Aerospace, Daewoo Heavy Industries, and Hyundai Space and Aircraft Company. However, Samsung still manufactures aircraft engines and gas turbines. [20] Samsung Techwin has been the sole supplier of a combustor module of the Trent 900 engine of the Rolls-Royce Airbus A380-The largest passenger airliner in the world- since 2001.[21] Samsung Techwin of Korea is a revenue-sharing participant in the Boeing's 787 Dreamliner GEnx engine program.[22]
Samsung Electronics overtook Sony as one of the world's most popular consumer electronics brands in 2004 and 2005, and is now ranked #19 in the world overall.[23] In Q3 of 2011, Samsung has overtaken Apple to become the World's Largest Smartphone maker.[24] SCTV and Indosiar are subsidiary of Surya Citra Media that owned by Samsung. In 2011, SCTV and Indosiar will merger and given stake by Samsung.
In 1948, Cho Hong-jai (the Hyosung group’s founder) jointly invested in a new company called Samsung Mulsan Gongsa (삼성물산공사), or the Samsung Trading Corporation, with the Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chull. The trading firm grew to become the present-day Samsung C&T Corporation. But after some years Cho and Lee parted ways due to some differences in management between the two men. He wanted to get up to a 30% group share. After settlement, Samsung Group was separated into Samsung Group and Hyosung Group, Hankook Tire ...etc.[25][26]
After founder's death, Samsung Group was separated into Samsung Group and three other conglomerates - Shinsegae Group, CJ Group and Hansol Group.[27] Shinsegae (discount store, department store) was originally part of Samsung Group, separated in the 1990s from the Samsung Group along with CJ Group (Food/Chemicals/Entertainment/logistics) and the Hansol Group (Paper/Telecom). The brand-new Shinsengae Centumcity Department Store is now officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the largest department store in the world.[28] Today these separated groups are independent and they are not part of or connected to the Samsung Group.[29] One Hansol Group representative said, "Only people ignorant of the laws governing the business world could believe something so absurd," adding, "When Hansol separated from the Samsung Group in 1991, it severed all payment guarantees and share-holding ties with Samsung affiliates." One Hansol Group source asserted, "Hansol, Shinsegae, and CJ have been under independent management since their respective separations from the Samsung Group." One Shinsegae Department Store executive director said, "Shinsegae has no payment guarantees associated with the Samsung Group."[29]
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Audio branding was produced by Musikvergnuegen and written by Walter Werzowa using the notes E♭, A♭, D♭, E♭ .[31][32]
In 2010, Samsung announced a 10-year growth strategy centered around five businesses.[33] One of these businesses was to be focused on biopharmaceuticals, to which the Company has committed ₩2.1 trillion.[34]
According to the FTC(Fair Trade Commission) data as of April 1, 2011, the number of Samsung Group’s affiliates increased 32.1 percent to 78 from 59 in 2008.[35]
Samsung has also been listed among the top 10 most trusted brands in India by The Brand Trust Report[36] India Study.
Company | Symbol | Company | Symbol |
---|---|---|---|
SAMSUNG Corporation | 000830 | Shilla Hotels and Resorts | 008770 |
SAMSUNG Securities | 016360 | SAMSUNG Fine Chemicals | 004000 |
SAMSUNG SDI | 006400 | SI Corporation | 012750 |
SAMSUNG Electro-Mechanics | 009150 | SAMSUNG Fire & Marine Insurance | 000810 |
SAMSUNG Engineering | 028050 | SAMSUNG Electronics | 005930 |
SAMSUNG Techwin | 012450 | Samsung Life Insurance | 032830 |
Cheil Industries | 001300 | SAMSUNG Card | 029780 |
SAMSUNG Heavy Industries | 010140 | Cheil Worldwide | 030000 |
Imarket Korea | 122900 | Credu | 067280 |
Ace Digitech | 036550 |
Samsung Biologics was established as a biopharmaceutical manufacturer with a focus on biosimilars and is part of the Samsung Group's 2010–2020 strategic plan for growth.[34] The Affiliate was established in April 2011 between Samsung Group and Quintiles, a multinational pharmaceutical services company.[34] In December 2011, a US$300 million joint venture was announced between the Affiliate and Biogen Idec.[37] The joint venture has an 85/15 investment split between Samsung and Biogen and will be based in South Korea.[37]
GROUP DIVISIONS |
---|
Electronics industries |
Financial services |
Chemical industries |
Machinery and heavy industries |
Engineering and construction |
Retail and entertainment |
Apparel and advertisement |
Education and medical services |
Trading and resource development |
Food supplier and security services |
Consolidated revenue is the sum of the revenues perceived by the company and the revenues from its subsidiaries all together. In FY 2009, Samsung Group had a revenue of 220 trillion KRW ($172.5 billion), financial results are based on parent companies. In FY 2010, Samsung reported 280 trillion KRW ($258 billion) worth of revenue, and 30 trillion KRW ($27.6 billion) profit. (*Based upon a KRW=USD exchange rate of 1,084.5KRW per USD, the spot rate as of 19 August 2011[update])[40] However, they also do not contain the revenues of overseas subsidiaries, and no one knows about real revenues.[41]
Samsung has been notoriously wary of such expansion since its unsuccessful purchase of companies in the late 1990s. Samsung, which has mainly focused on organic growth, has made no major acquisitions in past 10 years.
Samsung was forced to close the California-based computer maker after a mass defection of research talent and a string of losses.[45]
Samsung's key clients (Q1 2010)[56] | ||||||
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Rank/company | Part description | Buying (trillion KRW) | Percent of total sales | |||
1 Sony | DRAM, NAND flash, LCD panels, etc... | 1.28 | 3.7 | |||
2 Apple Inc | AP (mobile processor), DRAM, NAND flash, etc... | 0.9 | 2.6 | |||
3 Dell | DRAM, flat-panels, lithium-ion batteries, etc... | 0.87 | 2.5 | |||
4 HP | DRAM, flat-panels, lithium-ion batteries, etc... | 0.76 | 2.2 | |||
5 Verizon Communications | Handsets, etc... | 0.5 | 1.3 | |||
6 AT&T | Handsets, etc... | 0.5 | 1.3 |
The Samsung Group annually donates around $100 million to the Samsung Medical Center, their nonprofit medical organization.[57] The Samsung Medical Center (Korean: 삼성의료원) is composed of Samsung Seoul Hospital (Korean: 삼성서울병원), Kangbook Samsung Hospital (Korean: 강북삼성병원), Samsung Changwon Hospital (Korean: 삼성창원병원), Samsung Cancer Center (Korean:삼성암센터) and Samsung Life Sciences Research Center (Korean: 삼성생명과학연구소). Samsung Cancer Center located in Seoul, is the largest cancer center in Asia.[58] Samsung Medical Center and Pfizer to Conduct Joint Research to Identify Genomic Mechanisms Responsible for Clinical Outcomes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.[59]
Samsung is hoping their role in the London 2012 Olympic Games will provide a "golden moment" for the company's UK reputation, according to Olympic news outlet Around the Rings. Vice President Gyehyun Kwon told ATR that "double digit gains in U.K. consumer awareness are possible" through Samsung's partnership with London 2012.
Samsung was instrumental in bringing the 2018 Winter Olympics to Pyeongchang. In December 2009, the former chairman of Samsung, Lee Kun-hee, was pardoned in order that he could return to the International Olympics Committee and help South Korea bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. He had previously been convicted of tax evasion in 2008 and had been part of two failed bids to bring the Olympics to South Korea. [60]
During this bid, Lee Kun-hee and figure skating gold medalist Kim Yuna lobbied heavily for support; it was thought that Lee's influence would help to secure the bid. On July 6 2011, it was announced that Pyeongchang would be the location of the 2018 Winter Games. [61] Samsung C&T Corporation will be among the top tier of firms competing for construction projects for the games. [62]
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