Elecom

Elecom Co., Ltd. (エレコム株式会社, Erekomu Kabushikgaisha) is a Japanese electronics company and founded by Junji Hada in Osaka, Japan in 1986. The company introduced an oval mouse in 1988 that became a global standard design. They manufacture office and other furniture for using with electronics, computer peripherals, gaming peripherals, computer memory and USB flash drives, keyboards, and many other related devices.

For the series of early computers produced by the Electronic Computer Corporation, see Samuel Lubkin.
Elecom Co., Ltd.
エレコム株式会社
TypeKK
IndustryInformation technology
Computer hardware
Electronics
Founded1986 (1986)
FounderJunji Hada
HeadquartersOsaka, Japan
Number of locations
23
Products
Revenue
  • ¥76,554,000,000
  • ¥99,362,000,000 (incl. subs.)
 (2019)
Total equity¥6,990,000,000 (2019)
Number of employees
792 (2019)
Subsidiariessee below
WebsiteOfficial website
Footnotes / references
[1]

The company and its subsidiaries have offices worldwide, including in South Korea, the Philippines, the United States, The Netherlands, Germany, and China. Elecom has had the top marketshare in Japan for mobile phone audio accessories, mobile phone battery chargers, smartphone cases, smartphone screen protectors, and tablet accessories since 2017.

History

Elecom was founded in May 1986 in Osaka, Japan by Junji Hada (葉田順治, Hada Junji).[2] The company opened a facility in Miyakojima-ku and manufactured office furniture such as computer desks.[3] In November of the same year, they opened an office in Itabashi in Tokyo. The following November, offices were opened in Nagoya and Fukuoka.[3] They introduced an oval mouse in 1988, different than the common rectangular mouse that was popular at that time, and the oval mouse became the global standard.[2] A Tokyo distribution center was opened in December 1988.[3]

Their first numeric keypad was launched in September 1989. The following September, an office was opened in Sapporo, and their Sendai office was expanded to include a distribution center in March 1991. Elecom Sales (エレコム販売株式会社, Erekomu Hanbai Kabushikigaisha) was spun-off in July 1991, with offices in Minamikawachi. Elecom Computer Products was established in the United States in September 1992.[3]

Seiko Epson sued Elecom and manufacturer Ester Industries in September 2000, claiming that Elecom's manufacturing and sales of ink cartridges compatible with Epson printers infringed on their patent.[4] The suit was dismissed in March 2002 when the Japan Patent Office withdrew Seiko Epson's patent, stating it did not meet the requirement for originality.[n 1][4]

Elecom won the top spot in the categories for mobile phone audio accessory, mobile phone battery charger, smartphone case, smartphone screen protector, and tablet accessory every year from 2017 to 2020 in the annual BCN Awards[5][6][7][8] (given out by the POS marketing information company BCN since 2000). Due to COVID-19, demand for webcams and microphones tripled or quadrupled due to the increase in people working from home.[2] At the same time, due to the increase in popularity of notebook computers, the demand for its computer stands has sharply decreased, causing them to quickly change the company's product focus.[2]

A charity golf tournament was hosted by Elecom at the Yomiuri Country Club in on June 17, 2020 to raise money for healthcare workers due to the impact of COVID-19. It was the first professional golf tournament since the spread of the virus.[9]

In June 2020, Daiwa Securities reported they had reduced their holdings in Elecom from 5.20 percent to 3.45 percent.[10]

Products

The company is best known for their modern design, especially with their mice.[2] Elecom controls a large percent of the market share in Japan in various product categories, including #1 in computer mice, keyboards, and speakers in 2010.[11][12][13] Its products have won the Good Design Award 106 times between 1993 and 2019.[14]

The company produces electronics as an OEM that are shipped to many outside and larger companies. In 2020 in Japan, they controlled 57.2 percent of the tablet accessory market, 49.5 percent of the mobile phone audio accessory market, 31.2 percent of the smartphone case market, 38.3 percent of the smartphone screen protector market, and 33.3 percent of the mobile phone battery charger market.[5]

They manufacture many different products:

Subsidiaries

Elecom has subsidiaries in Japan and around the world:[15]

  • D-Clue Technologies
  • DX Antenna (founded in August 1953, bought from Funai in 2017)[16]
    • DX Antenna Marketing
    • DX Antenna Philippines
  • Elecom Shanghai (新宜丽客(上海)商贸有限公司)
  • Elecom Hong Kong
    • Elecom Sales Hong Kong
  • Elecom Korea
  • Elecom Singapore
  • Elecom Support & Service
  • Elecom Healthcare
  • Hagiwara Solutions (founded in November 1971 as "Hagiwara Sys-Com", went bankrupt in 2011, absorbed as a subsidiary into Elecom)
  • Logitec (founded in June 1982, purchased by Elecom in December 2004 via stock buyout)[17]
    • Logitec INA Solutions

See also

Notes
  1. The wording used by the JPO was "Invalid [due to] lack of originality" (「新規性がなく無効」, Shinkisei ga naku mukō)

References
  1. 会社概要 [Company Overview] (in Japanese). Elecom. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  2. 逆境は成長のチャンス [Adversity is a chance for growth] (in Japanese). NHK おはBiz. 9 June 2020. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  3. 沿革 [History] (in Japanese). Elecom. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  4. 特許無効でエプソン実質敗訴 インクカートリッジ販売差し止め訴訟で [Big loss for Epson at patent invalidation [trial]; Ink cartridge sales in prohibition lawsuit] (in Japanese). ITmediaニュース. 28 March 2002. Archived from the original on 5 November 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  5. BCN Award 2020: 携帯端末アクセサリ [BCN Award 2020: Portable Terminal Accessory] (in Japanese). BCN Award. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  6. BCN Award 2017: 携帯端末アクセサリ [BCN Award 2017: Portable Terminal Accessory] (in Japanese). BCN Award. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  7. BCN Award 2018: 携帯端末アクセサリ [BCN Award 2018: Portable Terminal Accessory] (in Japanese). BCN Award. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  8. BCN Award 2019: 携帯端末アクセサリ [BCN Award 2019: Portable Terminal Accessory] (in Japanese). BCN Award. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  9. エレコムチャリティーゴルフ、女子は古江が“初Ｖ” コロナ感染拡大後初のプロ大会 [Elecom Charity Golf, women's Furue got "First Victory" at the first pro tournament since the spread of COVID-19] (in Japanese). Yahoo! Japan News. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  10. 【５％】エレコムについて、大和証券は保有割合が5％未満に減少したと報告 [変更報告書No.1] [(5%) Report concerning Elecom, Daiwa Securities reduces holdings to less than 5% (Change Report No.1)] (in Japanese). Kabutan. 19 June 2020. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  11. GfK Japan Certified AV家電 [Gfk Japan Certified AV Home Electronics] (in Japanese). GfK Marketing Services Japan Ltd. Archived from the original on 28 January 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
  12. GfK Japan Certified パソコン・パソコン周辺機器 [Gfk Japan Certified PC / PC Accessories] (in Japanese). GfK Marketing Services Japan Ltd. Archived from the original on 29 January 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  13. "About Us - No.1 Share in Japan". Elecom Co. Ltd. 31 December 2010. Archived from the original on 23 April 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  14. "Good Design Award" 受賞対象一覧 [Winning Object Summary] (in Japanese). Good Design Award. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  15. グループ・関連会社 [Group - Associated Companies] (in Japanese). Elecom. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  16. 会社概要 [Company Overview] (in Japanese). DK Antenna. Archived from the original on 26 September 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  17. 会社沿革 [Company History] (in Japanese). Logitec. Archived from the original on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  • Media related to Elecom at Wikimedia Commons
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