Sharp Corporation (シャープ株式会社) is a Japanese electronics company.[4][5] It is headquartered in Sakai, Osaka, and was founded by Tokuji Hayakawa in 1912 in Honjo, Tokyo, and established as the Hayakawa Metal Works Institute in Abeno-ku, Osaka, in 1924.[6] Since 2016, it is majority owned by the Taiwan-based manufacturer Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., better known as Foxconn.[7][8]
Sharp makes and has made throughout its history various different consumer electronic products, including kitchen appliances such as microwave ovens, cookers, washing machines and refrigerators; home appliances such as solar cells, vacuum cleaners, air purifiers dehumidifier and lighting; home and office devices such as printers, computer displays, TV sets, camcorders, VCRs, as well as calculators and various audio products such as radios, audio systems and wireless speakers.[9][10]
Sharp's net sales reached 2.55 trillion yen in fiscal year 2022 (ending 29 February 2024), according to Statista. This represents a slight increase from the previous year's figure of 2.5 trillion yen.[11]
History
Early years 1912–1945
In 1912, Tokuji Hayakawa founded a metal workshop in Honjo, Tokyo. The first of his many inventions was a snap buckle named 'Tokubijo'. Another of his inventions was the Ever-Ready Sharp mechanical pencil in 1915. The product became one of the first internationally available mechanical pencils (while concurrent US design replaced it soon and became a modern type), and due to this big success the Sharp Corporation derived its name from it.[12] After the pencil business was destroyed by the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, the company relocated to Osaka and began designing the first generation of Japanese radio sets. These went on sale in 1925.
The company was established as "Hayakawa Metal Works" in 1924, in Tanabe-cho, Osaka. In 1942, the name was changed to "Hayakawa Electric Industry Company".[13]
1945–1999
Products
Core technologies and products include LCD panels, solar panels, mobile phones, audio-visual entertainment equipment, video projectors, Multi-Function Printing Devices, microwave ovens, air conditioners, air coolers, air purifiers, cash registers, CMOS and CCD sensors, and flash memory.
The first commercial camera phone was also made by Sharp for the Japanese market in November 2000. Recent products include the ViewCam, the Ultra-Lite notebook PC, the Zaurus personal digital assistant, Sidekick 3, and the AQUOS flat-screen television.
Sharp manufactures consumer electronic products, including LCD televisions, sold under the Aquos brand, mobile phones, microwave ovens, Home cinema and audio systems, air purification systems, fax machines and calculators.[58]
For the business market, Sharp also produces projectors and monitors
Operations
Japan
Net sales for the year 2003 were $16.8 billion. The corporation employs 46,600 staff, of which around half live outside Japan.
It operates from 64 bases in 30 countries and its products are distributed in 164 countries worldwide. Many of its regional subsidiaries trade under the name Sharp Electronics. Sharp was among the Top 100 R&D Spenders in a list published by the IEEE Spectrum magazine in 2002. Sharp's headquarters are at 1 Takumi-chō, Sakai-ku, Sakai, Japan. Until the relocation to Sakai in 2016, the headquarters were in Abeno-ku, Osaka where Hayakawa restarted the business in the 1920s.[67]
Europe
In 2007 Sharp opened a LCD manufacturing plant in Poland.[68] The plant initially manufactured LCD modules using LCD panels imported from Sharp Japan.[69]
Controversies
Antitrust law violations
United States
On 8 November 2008, the United States Department of Justice announced that Sharp had agreed to pay $120 million (United States Dollar) as a criminal fine. According to the announcement, Sharp participated in conspiracies to fix the price of TFT LCD panel for Dell's computer monitors and laptops (2001–2005), Motorola's Razr phones (2005–2006) and Apple's iPod (2005–2006).[81]
Japan
On 18 December 2008, Japan Fair Trade Commission ordered Sharp to pay JP¥261 million (US$3 million) as criminal fine. According to the order, Sharp and Hitachi Display participated in the conspiracies to keep the price for TFT
Sponsorships
Sharp was the principal sponsor of Manchester United Football Club from 1983 until 2000, in one of the lengthiest and most lucrative sponsorship deals in English football.[86][87] Sharp's logo was on the front of United's shirts over these 17 years, during which the team won seven Premier League titles, five FA Cups, one Football League Cup, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, and one UEFA Champions League title. During 2002/03 and 2003/04 seasons, Sharp was sponsor on Red Star Belgrade shirts during their campaign in UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League.
From 1987 to 1994, Sharp was the main shirt sponsor of Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga.
From 2001 to 2003, Sharp was the main shirt sponsor of Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. in the SFL.
In June 2012, Sharp became name sponsor of a UCI World Tour cycling team, which thereupon became known as Garmin–Sharp.[88]
Product gallery
Slogans
- "New Life Now" (Japan only, 1970s–1985)[90]
- "New Life People" (Japan only, 1985–1988)
- "From Sharp Minds Come Sharp Products" (1980s)
- "Serikan Hidup Anda" (Malaysia only, 1980s–1990s)
- "Pertama & Satu-Satunya di Indonesia" (English: The First and Only in Indonesia, Indonesia only, 1997–2002)
- "Pertama & Satu-Satunya di Dunia" (English: The First and Only in the World, Indonesia only, 1997–2002)
- "Be Sharp" (2002–2016)[91]
- "Be Original" (2016–present)[92]
External links
References
- data ns6-tmp.sharp.co.jp, retrieved 11 February 2016^
- Annual Report 2019 Sharp Corporation, March 2020, retrieved 6 December 2020^
- Corporate Guide^