9

Office
equipment,
foodprocessing,
security,

materials
handling and
industrial
storage
solutions,const
ruction
andinformatio

n
technology.Th
e Group is
headed byAdi
GodrejandJam
shydGodrej.
Haier:

is amultination
alhome
appliancescom
panyheadquart
ered
inQingdao,Sha
ndong,People's

Republic of
China.Its
products
includehouseh
oldappliancess
uch asair
conditionerswa

shingmachines
,refrigeratorsa
ndtelevisions.I
nwhite
goodsthe Haier
brand has the
largest

marketshare in
the world, with
a 6.1 per cent
share in 2010.
Samsung:
The Samsung
Group isamulti

nationalconglo
merate
corporationhea
dquarteredinSa
msung
Town,Seoul,So
uth Korea.It is

South
Korea'slargestc
haeboland is
the world's
largest
privateconglo
merate by

revenuewith
an annual
revenue of US
$172.5 billion
in 2009. The
Samsung
Group

comprises
numerousinter
national
affiliatedbusin
esses,most of t
hem united un
der the Samsu

ng brandinclud
ingSamsung
Electronics,the
world's largest
technology
company
by sales.

Onida:
Onida was
started by
G.L.Mirchand
ani and Vijay
Mansukhani in
1981inMumba

i.In 1982,
Onida
startedassembl
ingtelevisionse
ts at their
factoryinAndh
eri,Mumbai.Si

nce then,
Onida
hasevolved
into a multiproduct
company in
theconsumer

durables and
appliances
sector.
10

Onida
achieved a

100% growth
in ACs
andmicrowave
ovensand a
40% growth
inwashingmac
hines

last year.
ONIDA came
out with the
famous caption
'Neighbors
envy, Owner's
Pride;

another
popular theme
of the ads was
adevilcomplete
with horns and
tail in the
1980s. The

devilwas
replaced by a
married
coupleSiddharth and
Ritu.
Panasonic

Corporation fo
rmerly known
as MatsushitaE
lectric
Industrial Co.,
Ltd. is a
Japanesemulti

nationalconsu
mer
electronicscorp
orationheadqu
artered
inKadoma,Osa
ka,Japan. Its

main business
is
inelectronicsm
anufacturing
and it produces
products under
avariety of

names
including
Panasonic
andTechnics.Si
nce its
founding in
1918, it has

grown
tobecome the
largest
Japanese
electronics
producer. In
addition to

electronics,
Panasonic
offersnonelectronic
products and
services such
as

home renovati
on services.
Sony
Corporation
or commonly
referred to as
Sony,isJapanes

emultinational
conglomeratec
orporationhead
quartered
inMinato,Toky
o, Japan and
the world'sfifth

largestmedia
conglomerate
withUS$77.20
billion Sony is
one of the
leading
manufacturers

of electronics,
products for
the consumer
and
professional
markets. Sony
Corporation is

theelectronicsb
usiness
unitand
theparent
companyof
theSony
Group,which

is engaged
inbusiness
through its
eight operating
segments

Consumer
Products &
Devices
(CPD),Networ
ked Products
& Services
(NPS), B2B &

Disc
Manufacturing
(B2B & Disc),
Pictures,Music
, Financial
Services, Sony
Ericsson and

All Other.
These make
Sony one of
the
mostcomprehe
nsive
entertainment

companies in
the world.Its
foundersAkio
MoritaandMas
aru
Ibukaderived
the name

fromsonus,the
Latinwordfor
sound, and
also from the
English slang
word "sonny",
since they

considered
themselves to
be
11

"sonny boys",
aloan wordinto

Japanese
which in the
early 1950s
connoted
smart
andpresentable
young men.

British
Physical
LaboratoriesG
roup (BPL)
is an Indian ele
ctronicscompa
ny that deals

with consumer
appliances(suc
h as
refrigerators
and washing
machines),ho
me

entertainment
products and
health
caredevices
.

In 1963, BPL
founder and

Group
ChairmanTPG
Nambiarbegan
manufacturing
hermetically
sealedprecisio
n panel meters

inPalakkad, Ke
rala,under the
nameof British
Physical
Laboratories.
Having
worked in

theUKandUSA
,when he came
back toIndia
armed with a
vision of
pioneering the
manufacture of

superior
quality
electronic
products,he
dreamed of
making BPL a
household

name. Over
the years,
BPL's growth
has been
subject
toconstant
challenges.

LG Corp
is the second
largestSouthK
oreanconglom
eratecompany,
headquartered
in theLG Twin

Towers
inYeouidodong,Yeongde
ungpo-gu,and
Seoul.LG
produceselectr
onics,chemical

s, andtelecom
municationspr
oducts and
operatessubsid
iaries likeLG
Electronics,LG
Display,LGTel

ecomandLG
Chemin over
80
countries.LG
Corp. founder
Koo In-Hwoi
established

Lak-Hui
Chemical
Industrial
Corp. in
1947.In 1952,
Lak-Hui
(pronounced

"Lucky",
currently LG
Chem) became
the first
Korean
companyto
enter the

plastics
industry. As
the company
expanded its
plastics
business, it
establishedGol

dStarCo., Ltd.,
(currently LG
Electronics
Inc.) in 1958.