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Warren Buffet turned a textile manufacturing company into a holding. An automatic loom manufacture got turned into one of the biggest automobile companies: Toy

by qznc 4y ago

Warren Buffet turned a textile manufacturing company into a holding. An automatic loom manufacture got turned into one of the biggest automobile companies: Toyota Nokia was initially a pulp mill. Microsoft initially sold a BASIC interpreter, then a Unix, then MS-DOS.

timr 4y ago
Sharp started out making mechanical pencils. Panasonic started out making lightbulb sockets. Mitsubishi started as a shipping company.
- blululu 4y ago
  Though I believe all these companies still make these products. They have simply expanded into other sectors.
  - timr 4y ago
    Sharp doesn't make mechanical pencils, so far as I know. I'd also be sort of surprised if Panasonic made lightbulb sockets. To your broader point, though, it's true that most of the major Japanese conglomerates have amusing/modest origins and have accrued side-businesses over time until they became goliaths. It's still interesting that a company like Panasonic began with something so mundane. Other than a few cases like IBM (which began as separate companies making time clocks and card punchers), it's not that common a story in the western market.
KerrAvon 4y ago
I don’t think MS counts as a pivot. Those were all software products for early microcomputers.
jonnybgood 4y ago
Lehman Brothers started as a dry-goods store.
manquer 4y ago
Warren Buffet was always a investor he didn’t himself pivot anything. He didn’t found Berkshire he just bought a old public not very healthy textile company and used it as his investment vehicle /holding company and dumped its assets.
- 55555 4y ago
  Yes all correct, just like the parent, but technically he did pivot the textile mill company into an investment company, even tho Warren Buffet himself didn't pivot (altho he's arguably pivoted a bit from his original investment strategy, but this a thread for large pivots).
  - manquer 4y ago
    Berkshire Hathaway the textile company died more than pivoted. The kind of change that Berkshire Hathaway went through is fairly well used tool in finance. Every SPAC does the kind of the same for example, asset stripping and selling in parts or becoming a holding company is natural way for companies in late stage to die.[1] Alphabet becoming a holding company is perhaps closer to a pivot for holding and operating companies than Berkshire [1] A recent example would be Altaba that was created from the remnants of Yahoo.
indrora 4y ago
Nokia still makes paper and rubber products.
- Ndymium 4y ago
  Not that Nokia. Nokian Tyres plc (Nokian Renkaat Oyj) was split in the 80s and is the company making tires. Rubber boots were made by Nokian Footwear (Nokian Jalkineet), split in 1990 and nowadays a brand of Berner Oy. Paper products at Nokia (the city) are made by Nokian Paperi which is a part of Swedish company Essity. The Nokia plc we all know mostly focuses on wired and wireless network technology.

by qznc 4y ago

timr 4y ago

Sharp started out making mechanical pencils. Panasonic started out making lightbulb sockets. Mitsubishi started as a shipping company.

blululu 4y ago
Though I believe all these companies still make these products. They have simply expanded into other sectors.
- timr 4y ago
  Sharp doesn't make mechanical pencils, so far as I know. I'd also be sort of surprised if Panasonic made lightbulb sockets. To your broader point, though, it's true that most of the major Japanese conglomerates have amusing/modest origins and have accrued side-businesses over time until they became goliaths. It's still interesting that a company like Panasonic began with something so mundane. Other than a few cases like IBM (which began as separate companies making time clocks and card punchers), it's not that common a story in the western market.

KerrAvon 4y ago

I don’t think MS counts as a pivot. Those were all software products for early microcomputers.

jonnybgood 4y ago

Lehman Brothers started as a dry-goods store.

manquer 4y ago

Warren Buffet was always a investor he didn’t himself pivot anything. He didn’t found Berkshire he just bought a old public not very healthy textile company and used it as his investment vehicle /holding company and dumped its assets.

55555 4y ago
Yes all correct, just like the parent, but technically he did pivot the textile mill company into an investment company, even tho Warren Buffet himself didn't pivot (altho he's arguably pivoted a bit from his original investment strategy, but this a thread for large pivots).
- manquer 4y ago
  Berkshire Hathaway the textile company died more than pivoted. The kind of change that Berkshire Hathaway went through is fairly well used tool in finance. Every SPAC does the kind of the same for example, asset stripping and selling in parts or becoming a holding company is natural way for companies in late stage to die.[1] Alphabet becoming a holding company is perhaps closer to a pivot for holding and operating companies than Berkshire [1] A recent example would be Altaba that was created from the remnants of Yahoo.

indrora 4y ago

Nokia still makes paper and rubber products.

Ndymium 4y ago
Not that Nokia. Nokian Tyres plc (Nokian Renkaat Oyj) was split in the 80s and is the company making tires. Rubber boots were made by Nokian Footwear (Nokian Jalkineet), split in 1990 and nowadays a brand of Berner Oy. Paper products at Nokia (the city) are made by Nokian Paperi which is a part of Swedish company Essity. The Nokia plc we all know mostly focuses on wired and wireless network technology.