Toshio Iue
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
He joined Matsushita Electric Works in March 1918 and became Senior Managing Director of Matsushita Electric Industrial in December 1935. The younger brother of Konosuke Matsushita's wife, he spent about 29 years at Matsushita from its early days, serving as Senior Managing Director. Targeted for the purge under the zaibatsu dissolution by the Allied General Headquarters, he left the company in December 1946. In January 1947 he founded Sanyo Electric Works as a sole proprietorship in Moriguchi, Osaka Prefecture, and began making dynamo lamps for bicycles and portable lamps at the Hojo plant in Hyogo Prefecture, which he took over from Matsushita.
Selection
In April 1950 he established Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. with capital of ¥20 million, incorporating the sole proprietorship and becoming President at the same time. Although it was the 17th company to enter the domestic market, its share of bicycle dynamo lamps in Japan had reached about 70% in 1950. The founding board included his younger brothers Yuro Iue as head of general affairs and Kaoru Iue as head of materials, while Seiichi Goto, who had moved from Matsushita Electric Industrial, ran the Hojo works. A family line-up, with the founder as President and his two brothers sharing administration and materials, appears to have been set at this point.
Initiatives
The company began producing radios in 1951, and in 1952 teamed up with Sekisui Chemical to launch Japan's first plastic radio for under ¥10,000. In August 1953, judging that Hoover's pulsator method from the UK suited Japanese homes, it launched Japan's first pulsator washing machine at about ¥28,000, roughly half the price of competitors, growing output from 30 a month to 10,000 a month in just over a year. It listed on the Osaka Securities Exchange in April 1954 and the Tokyo Stock Exchange in December that year. In July 1959 it established Tokyo Sanyo Electric in Oizumi, Gunma Prefecture, where labor costs were about 30% lower than in Kansai, moving production into a separate company.
Career
Career
Matsushita Electric Industrial
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Mar 1918 | Joined Matsushita Electric Works |
| Dec 1935 | Senior Managing Director |
| Dec 1946 | Left the company |
Sanyo Electric
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| Jan 1947 | Founded Sanyo Electric Works |
| Apr 1950 | President |
| Jan 1968 | Chairman |
References 3
References (Japanese primary sources)
- 日本企業要覧 1961年版
- 日本企業要覧 1969年版
- 企業の歴史 : 明治百年（経済春秋社編, 1968）