The thread on Kodak’s possible bankruptcy got me to wondering. People were saying Kodak was not on target when it switched from being successful at camera/film to try to compete with copiers.
So I was thinking, there must be companies that were successful in one line of products or service and saw, this isn’t gonna fly in the future, then switched over to a new line of product or service and succeeded.
I don’t mean companies that had MORE than one successful line, I mean ones that basically abandoned one successful line and moved to another success
Didn’t Nintendo start out making card games before they went to video games? I’m not sure if that counts as a new ‘line’ per se, since they are both games of a type, but certainly a new medium.
A good counter-example to Kodak would be it’s arch-rival: Fuji Film.
Fuji is still making film, but realising (a little late) that there was not much future in that business, they fairly aggressively diversified. They are now a major manufacturer of LCD screen components, they make digital cameras, medical equipment and they also make cosmetics and health food. All of these are based on expertise they developed (ha!) by making film.
not sure if this counts, but Mitsubishi started out as a shipping company that diversified to suit various business endevors (marine insurance for the ships, coal mining for ship fuel, and so on and so forth). they settled into a three-tiered company of banking, trading and machinery.
my friend went to japan and brought me back a Mitusbishi writing pen. because they are like the Bic of japan.
I don’t think Mitsubishi pencil is closely related to the machinery side. Mitsubishi pencil also sells as Uni-Ball, and their Signo DX 0.38 mm is my favourite pen.
A lot of these examples, particularly the Japanese ones, are simply holding companies that got big enough to start buying all sorts of smaller companies in lots of different industries. And over time, some members of the portfolio grew while others shrank or were sold, giving the illusion the parent is moving into or out of certain industries. Conglomerates like this mostly fell out of favor in the US back in the 70s, but are still very common in most of Asia.
Delta Airlines started out as a crop dusting company. The “Delta” refers to the Mississippi river delta where they sprayed. At least one other significant US airline started out as an aircraft manufacturer back in the 1920s; I’m not recalling which one, nor whether they still exist today in any form.
They very much exist. United Aircraft and Transport Corporation split up into 3 companies in the 1930s, each of which you might be aware of The three companies? Boeing, United Airlines and United Technologies (a conglomerate consisting of Pratt & Whitney and Sikorsky, among others).
