 Logo since 1987 | |
Native name | 三洋電機株式会社 |
|---|---|
Romanized name | San'yō Denki Kabushiki-gaisha |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Electronics |
| Founded | 1947; 79 years ago (1947) April 1950; 75 years ago (1950-04) (incorporated)[1] |
| Founder | Toshio Iue |
| Defunct | April 2012  |
| Fate | Acquired byPanasonic[2] |
| Headquarters | 2-1-61 Shiromi,Chūō-ku, Osaka,Osaka Prefecture, Japan |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Seiichirou Igaki (president)[1] |
| Products |
|
| Revenue |  ¥84.678 billion (2018)[3] |
| ¥6.590 billion (2018)[3] | |
| ¥4.983 billion (2018)[3] | |
| Total assets | ¥106.304 billion (2018)[3] |
| Total equity |  ¥64.832 billion (2018)[3] |
Number of employees | 104,882 (consolidated) 9,504 (non-consolidated) (March 31, 2010)[4] |
| Parent | Panasonic |
| Website | sanyo-av |
Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. (三洋電機株式会社,San'yō Denki Kabushiki-gaisha) (Japanese pronunciation:[saɰ̃.jo(ꜜ)ː]) was a Japanese electronics manufacturer founded in 1947 byToshio Iue, the brother-in-law ofKōnosuke Matsushita, the founder of Matsushita Electric Industrial, now known asPanasonic. Iue left Matsushita Electric to start his own business, acquiring some of its equipment to produce bicycle generator lamps. In 1950, the company was established. Sanyo began to diversify in the 1960s, having launched Japan's first spray-type washing machine in 1953. In the 2000s, it was known as one of the 3S along withSony andSharp. Sanyo also focused on solar cell and lithium battery businesses. In 1992, it developed the world's firsthybrid solar cell, and in 2002, it had a 41% share of the globallithium-ion battery market. In its heyday in 2003, Sanyo had sales of about ¥2.5 trillion. However, it fell into a financial crisis as a result of its huge investment in thesemiconductor business. In 2009, Sanyo was acquired by Panasonic, and in 2011, its operations were fully consolidated into Panasonic and its brand disappeared. The company now only exists as a legal entity to settle final business obligations.
Sanyo was founded whenToshio Iue, the brother-in-law ofKonosuke Matsushita and also a formerMatsushita employee, was lent an unused Matsushita plant in 1947 and used it to make bicycle generator lamps. Sanyo was incorporated in 1949; it made Japan's firstplasticradio in 1952 and Japan's first pulsator-typewashing machine in 1954.[4] The company's name meansthree oceans inJapanese, referring to the founder's ambition to sell their products worldwide, across theAtlantic,Pacific, andIndian oceans.
In 1969,Howard Ladd became the Executive Vice President and COO of Sanyo Corporation. Ladd introduced the Sanyo brand to the United States in 1970. The ambition to sell Sanyo products worldwide was realized in the mid-1970s after Sanyo introduced home audio equipment, car stereos and other consumer electronics to the North American market. The company embarked on a heavy television-based advertising campaign.
Ladd negotiated a purchase of theFisher Electronics audio equipment manufacturer by Sanyo in May 1975.[5] Under Ladd's leadership, the Fisher Corporation under Sanyo grew to be a multi-million dollar leader in the consumerelectronics industry. The new, profitable Fisher Corporation moved its headquarters from New York to Ladd's Los Angeles. Ladd was named president and CEO of the combined Sanyo / Fisher Corporation in 1977, serving until 1987.[6]
Ladd was instrumental at Sanyo in promotingQuadraphonic sound audio equipment for the American market, producing 4-channel audio equipment in bothdiscrete andmatrix formats. He said "we make all kinds of quadrasonic equipment because this is the business we're in... let the consumer buy the kind of software he prefers and we'll provide him the hardware to play it on".[7]
Sanyo realized tremendous growth during Ladd's tenure in the 1970s; annual sales grew from $71.4 million (equivalent to $536,721,000 in 2024) in 1972 to $855 million (equivalent to $4,121,885,000 in 2024) in 1978.[5]
After a fairly slow selling line in their ownV-Cord video format, Sanyo adoptedSony'sBetamax video cassette format around 1977 with initial success, including SuperBeta and Beta Hi-Fi models. From around 1984 onwards, production switched entirely toVHS.
In 1976, Sanyo expanded their North American presence with the purchase ofWhirlpool Corporation's television business, Warwick Electronics, which manufactured televisions forSears.[8][9]
In 1986, Sanyo's U.S. affiliate merged with Fisher to become Sanyo Fisher (U.S.A.) Corporation (later renamed Sanyo Fisher Company). The mergers made the entire organization more efficient, but also resulted in the departure of certain key executives, including Ladd, who had first introduced the Sanyo name to the United States in the early 1970s.[5]
In 1982, Sanyo started selling the MBC-1000 series ofCP/M computers.[10] In 1983,[11] it introduced theMBC-550 PC, the lowest-costIBM PC compatiblepersonal computer available at the time,[12] but its lack of full IBM compatibility drove hurt its market position. but its lack of full compatibility drove hurt Sanyo in the PC marketplace. Sanyo would eventually produce two portable PCS, the MBC-670 mono screen and the MBC-770, the first color portable PC. Unlke the 550, these PCs were 70-90% compatible with the IBM PC.
An article on "Sanyo Style" written in 1992 described that Sanyo utilizes an extensive socialization process for new employees, so that they will be acclimatized to Sanyo's corporate culture.[13] New employees take a five-month course during which they eat together and sleep together in accommodation. They learn everything from basic job requirements to company expectations forpersonal grooming and the appropriate way in which to dress for their co-workers and superiors.
Technologically, Sanyo has had good ties withSony, supporting theBetamax video format from invention until the mid-1980s (the best selling video recorder in the UK in 1983 was the Sanyo VTC5000), while producing theVHS video format at the same time for theFisher brand during the early 1980s, and later being an early adopter of the highly successfulVideo8 camcorder format. More recently, though, Sanyo decided against supporting Sony's format, theBlu-ray Disc, and instead gave its backing toToshiba'sHD DVD. This was ultimately unsuccessful, however, as Sony's Blu-ray triumphed.[14]
In North America, Sanyo manufacturedCDMA cellular phones exclusively forSprint's Sprint PCS brand in the United States and for Bell Mobility in Canada.
The2004 Chūetsu earthquake severely damaged Sanyo's semiconductor plant and as a result Sanyo recorded a huge financial loss for that year. The 2005 fiscal year financial results saw a 205 billion yen net income loss. The same year the company announced a restructuring plan called the Sanyo Evolution Project, launching a new corporate vision to make the corporation into an environmental company, plowing investment into strong products likerechargeable batteries, solarphotovoltaics,air conditioning,hybrid car batteries and keyconsumer electronics such as theXacti camera, projectors andmobile phones.
.jpg)
_capacitor_in_Sanyo_pocket_calculator.jpg)
_SD-76U_20170606.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Sanyo also remains the world number one producer of rechargeable batteries. Recent product innovations in this area include theEneloopLow self-discharge NiMH battery, a "hybrid" rechargeable NiMH (Nickel-metal hydride battery) which, unlike typical NiMH cells, can be used from-the-package without an initial recharge cycle and retain a charge significantly longer than batteries using standard NiMH battery design. The Eneloop line competes against similar products such asRayovac's "Hybrid Rechargeable" line.
On November 24, 2006, Sanyo announced heavy losses and job cuts.[15]
Tomoyo Nonaka, a formerNHK anchorwoman who was appointed chairwoman of the company, stepped down in March 2007.[16] The President, Toshimasa Iue, also stepped down in April of that year; Seiichiro Sano was appointed to head the company effective April 2007.In October 2007, Sanyo cancelled a 110 billionyen sale of its semiconductor business, blaming the global credit crisis for the decision and stating that after exploring its other options, it had decided to keep the business and develop it as part of its portfolio.[17]
In 2008, Sanyo's mobile phone division was acquired byKyocera.[18]
On November 2, 2008, Sanyo andPanasonic announced that they have agreed on the main points of a proposed buyout that would make Sanyo a subsidiary of Panasonic.[19] They became a subsidiary of Panasonic on December 21, 2009.[20]
In 2010, Sanyo sold its semiconductor operations toON Semiconductor.[21]
On July 29, 2010, Panasonic reached an agreement to acquire the remaining shares ofPanasonic Electric Works and Sanyo shares for $9.4 billion.[22][23]
By March 2012, parent company Panasonic plans to terminate the Sanyo brand, however it will remain on some of the products where the Sanyo brand still holds value to consumers.[24] In the same month, Sanyo's Southeast Asian unit, responsible for the manufacturing of consumer electric appliances in the region, was announced to be formally acquired byHaier.[25]
In August 2013, a 51% majority stake in Chinese company Hefei Royalstar Sanyo, a 2000 joint venture between Sanyo and Chinese government investment company Hefei, was purchased by American multinational manufacturerWhirlpool Corporation for $552 million.[26]
The Sanyo HIT (Heterojunction withIntrinsicThin layer) solar cell is composed of a mono thin crystalline silicon wafer surrounded by ultra-thinamorphous silicon layers.[27]
Sanyo Energy opened itssolar module assembly plants inHungary and inMexico in 2004, and in 2006 it produced solar modules worth $213 million. In 2007, Sanyo completed a new unit at its solar module plant in Hungary that was to triple its annual capacity to 720,000 units in 2008.[28]
Plans to expand production were based on rising demands for Sanyo Hungary products, whose leading markets areGermany,Italy,Spain andScandinavia. The plant atDorog, outsideBudapest, became Sanyo's largest solar module production facility in the world.
In late September 2008, Sanyo announced its decision to build a manufacturing plant for solaringots andwafers (the building blocks for silicon solar cells) inInagi, Japan. The plant began operating in October 2009 and was to reach its full production capacity of 70 megawatts (MW) ofsolar wafers per year by April 2010. Sanyo andNippon Oil decided to launch a joint company, known as Sanyo Eneos Solar Co., Ltd., for the production and sale ofthin-film solar panels. The new joint company began production and sales at an initial scale of 80 MW, while gradually increasing its production capacity. For this joint project, Sanyo drew on its solar cell technologies, based on the technology acquired through the development of the HIT solar cell.[27]
Sanyo is also responsible for the construction of theSolar Ark.
Sanyo pioneered the production ofnickel cadmium batteries in 1964,nickel metal hydride batteries (NiMh) in 1990,lithium-ion batteries in 1994, andlithium polymer batteries in 1999.[29] In 2000, it acquiredToshiba's NiMh business, including theTakasaki factory.[30] Since the acquisition of Sanyo by Panasonic, ownership of the Takasaki factory was transferred to the FDK Corporation.[31][32]
Sanyo supplies NiMh batteries toHonda,Ford,Volkswagen andPSA Peugeot Citroen. Sanyo is developing NiMH batteries for hybrid electric vehicles with the Volkswagen group, while their lithium-ion batteries for plug-in HEV will also be housed inSuzuki fleet vehicles.[33]
Sanyo planned to raise monthly production of NiMH batteries for hybrid vehicles from 1 million units to up to 2.5 million by the end of fiscal 2005.[34]
Panasonic reintroduced the Sanyo brand inIndia, with the launch of Sanyo LED TV range on August 8, 2016.[35] On July 11, 2017, Sanyo launched its range ofsmart TVs onAmazon Prime Day. In August 2017, Sanyo unveiled its NXT range of LED televisions exclusively onFlipkart.[36] In December 2017, Sanyo introduced its first 4K smart TV range in India.[37]
In September 2019, Sanyo introduced a range ofAndroid TV sets known as the Sanyo Kaizen Series.[38]
Sanyo worked withEnergy Efficiency Services Limited to develop a 1.5-toninverter air conditioner (AC) with an Indian Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (ISEER) of 5.2. Distribution of these air conditioners began in September 2017.[39]
On April 4, 2019, Sanyo launched a new AC range exclusively onAmazon.[40][41]
Though founded in Japan, Sanyo has sold TVs in America for over 50 years; Sanyo TV USA was headquartered inSan Diego,California with facilities located inTijuana, Mexico.
Many of Sanyo's television sets offerMHL compatibility along withRoku-ready branding viaHDMI, meaning the TVs are compatible with Roku's MHL-specific streaming stick. Sometimes included with purchase, such as with the Sanyo FVF5044,[42] this stick enables video streaming and other online functions as an affordable alternative to certain smart TVs; the TV's original remote is capable of browsing the service. Multiple models also have USB ports which allow for immediate photo sharing directly off the stick without any additional software/upgrades.[43]
In October 2014, Panasonic announced its intent to transfer the Sanyo TV unit toFunai in the US market in return for annualroyalty payments.Funai is a majorWalmart supplier that also suppliesPhilips andEmerson TV sets to the retail chain.[44]Consumer Reports commented in 2018 that Sanyo TVs "seem to turn up mostly in Walmart stores, almost as a private label for the retailer."[45]
Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. (三洋電機株式会社,) is not affiliated with Sanyo Denki Co. Ltd (山洋電気株式会社), which makes high speed, largeairflow, highstatic pressureDCfans sold under the moniker "San Ace", a product line mainly geared towards the enterprise market.
Sanyo was the primary sponsor of thePenrith Panthers in theNational Rugby League inAustralia from 2000 to 2012.[46] InFormula One, the company sponsoredBenetton from 1989 to 1995,Williams from 1995 to 1997 andStewart Grand Prix from 1997 to 1999. Infootball, the company sponsored theArgentinian clubRiver Plate from 1992 until 1995 and theBrazilianCoritiba from 1995 until 1999.
Two years ago, Panasonic agreed to license the Sanyo TV brand to Funai. Today, Sanyo TVs seem to turn up mostly in Walmart stores, almost as a private label for the retailer.
| Subsidiaries |
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brands | |||||||
| Products |
| ||||||
| Formats and standards | |||||||
| People | |||||||
| Other | |||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
