Sharp Corporation (Japanese: シャープ柳式会社) is a Japanese corporation, one of the world’s largest electronics manufacturers. The company was founded on September 15, 1912, by a young Tokyo resident named Tokuji Hayakawa, who originally worked repairing metal goods.
Founding History
The company’s name comes from the English word «sharp,» tied to the founder’s first successful invention — a mechanical pencil in a nickel casing, marketed as «ever-sharp» since it never needed sharpening. This pencil was patented in 1915 and brought Hayakawa his first commercial success.
After a 1923 fire destroyed the pencil factory in Tokyo, Hayakawa moved to Osaka, where he founded a new company, Hayakawa Metal Works. Osaka remains the headquarters of Sharp Corporation to this day.
The Move into Radio Electronics
In 1925, the company’s fortunes changed dramatically when Tokuji Hayakawa saw a radio receiver in a shop and decided to tie his business to radio manufacturing. Despite having no background in radio or electricity, he built the first working radio receiver, which was the first product to bear the name Sharp.
Developing Television Technology
The company entered the television business after seeing a demonstration of television imaging in the United States in 1926. In 1951, Sharp demonstrated Japan’s first working television prototype, and in 1952 signed a licensing agreement with the American corporation RCA. The first television model carried the designation Sharp TV3-14T.
Product Diversification
In the 1950s and ’60s, Sharp actively expanded its range of home appliances. In 1952, the company released its first washing machine and refrigerator. In 1961, it developed the country’s first microwave oven, which entered mass production the following year.
Technological Breakthroughs
Sharp is known for a series of groundbreaking inventions:
- 1964 — the world’s first electronic desktop calculator built on semiconductor components
- 1973 — the world’s first electronic calculator with a liquid-crystal display
- 1988 — the world’s first 14-inch active-matrix liquid-crystal display
- 2000 — the first mobile phone with a built-in camera
- 2013 — the world’s first 8K television
Modern Structure
By the end of the 20th century, Sharp had grown into a broad network of subsidiaries with several major research centers. The corporation’s manufacturing activity included:
- Home and office appliances
- Video electronics
- Information systems
- Electronic components
- Liquid-crystal displays
Sharp’s global structure included 27 sales offices in 23 countries, 24 production facilities in 14 countries, 9 representative offices in 5 countries, and 5 research facilities in 3 countries. Worldwide, the corporation employed 58,400 people, including 30,900 in Japan.
Change of Ownership
In 2016, Sharp was acquired by the Taiwanese company Foxconn Technology Group for ¥700 billion ($6.24 billion). Foxconn bought 66% of the shares for ¥388.8 billion.
Sharp remains one of the world’s leading electronics manufacturers, known for its innovations in display technology and home appliances.