#1. In 1995 there was a turning day. With one decision, the chairman of Kun-hee Lee led thousands of employees to weep, but he also set a completely new direction in which the brand had to follow since then. Disgusted by the poor quality of the manufactured products, he collected equipment worth some 50 million dollars and organized a great destruction - first with hammers and then in a giant fire.
The employees attached to the company genuinely wept at the sight of thousands of hours of work disappearing in the fire, but it is true that from that moment on, a new opening took place in Samsung's history. Since then, the Korean manufacturer has constantly improved the quality of its products, making sure that they never deserve to land in a bonfire (some products have decided to focus the fires themselves, but this is a completely different story).
#2.The company itself was founded in 1938, initially dealing only with exports. Very soon, however, it was decided to expand the business. Agrofood processing, insurance activity, securities trading and, of course, retail sales have joined.
Today, Samsung is a giant employing almost 500,000 worldwide. people in the most diverse industries - from electronic, automotive and construction. It is worth knowing that it was Samsung that was the main contractor responsible for the construction of Burj Khalifa - the world's tallest skyscraper, a show of the financial possibilities of Dubai sheiks.
#3. The 1993 Frankfurt Declaration is a name that says a lot to every Samsung employee. Despite the name suggesting, for example, that the Germans declared that they were not pursuing diesel engines, there was a special speech that President Lee Kun-Hee gave during his tour around the world. Having visited the United States and western Europe, he was as far from satisfaction as possible. Samsung's products were far behind competitive.
During the meeting with the directors in Frankfurt, he gave a speech in which he declared that "everything will be different from now on". Then he scrupulously explained everything to me. The speech lasted three days (with short breaks, so that listeners could take a nap)! From a famous speech by Samsung, he made a management manual - a mandatory reading position for employees in management positions.
#4. One of the more significant elements in Samsung's "modern" history is its "war" with Apple, full of sometimes bizarre claims by both parties. Samsung became famous for Apple's accusation of patent infringement for ... the way to introduce a smiling face. Apple, in turn, tried to sue Samsung in the UK. The court there, however, found that Samsung had not violated Apple's rights and ordered the wrongly accused to put on their websites and billboards information that Samsung had not violated Apple's rights.
War wars, "fanboje" of both companies must have something to be excited about. Meanwhile, the cooperation between Samsung and Apple is quite good. It is Samsung that produces, among others Retina displays used in Apple computers with a slightly higher shelf. Both Samsung in the Galaxy 6 smartphones and Apple in the iPhone 6 used the matrices ... Sony. The relationships between the largest companies are therefore much more advanced than it seems at first glance.
#5. Is the image of Lee Kun-hee as the president who absolutely loves his own company, devoting his whole life to Samsung, be right - or at least the only one? A $ 100 million fine and a three-year suspended sentence proves that the Korean is certainly not spotless. A few months after the verdict was announced, the president was pardoned by the president (so that he could stay in the International Olympic Committee), but it did not discontinue the controversy.
In 2010, one of Samsung's former lawyers issued an extensive book in which he explained in detail how Kun-hee was to move the company out of nearly $ 9 billion. According to the author, taking money, cheating the board and paying for the silence of officials was to ensure the smooth transfer of power in Samsung to the son of the president, and also grandson of the company's founder.
#6. In 1994, Samsung established Samsung Motors, which - with the technical support of Nissan - was to produce cars. Sales started in 1998, just before the East Asian markets hit a major financial crisis. In 2000, Renault joined the company, creating Renault Samsung Motors and selling similar to European cars, but equipped with the Samsung logo.
Already in 1994, however, Samsung introduced the first completely Korean electric car. Samsung SEV-III was to prove to the world that "although the company does not manufacture passenger cars, nothing is impossible for it". Soon after, of course, the production of passenger cars also took place.
#7. A great journey from a small company selling dumplings to one of the world's largest moguls proves that most decisions made by the president and later the directors of Samsung were right. Of course, there were also a lot of exceptions in history - fewer and a bit more spectacular. For example, in 2004, when Samsung decided not to buy Android.
The decision makers of the Korean company came to the conclusion that the project has no potential and the investment will never return. Google had a different opinion and finalized the transaction just two weeks after a group of 20 "Samsung experts" literally laughed at the Android Inc. delegation requesting funding.
Objectiv? engagement ring