Toshio Iue
This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (June 2015) |
Toshio Iue | |||||
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![]() The members of Matsushita Electric Housewares Manufacturing Works. (Back row from left, Kōnosuke Matsushita, Toshio Iue, Mumeno Matsushita) | |||||
Born | |||||
Died | 16 July 1969 Awaji, Hyōgo, Japan | (aged 66)||||
Occupation(s) | Businessman and industrialist | ||||
Known for | The founding of Sanyo | ||||
Children | 2 | ||||
Relatives | Kōnosuke Matsushita (brother-in-law) | ||||
Japanese name | |||||
Kanji | |||||
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Toshio Iue (
Early life
[edit]The son of a sailor from Awaji Island, Iue initially followed his father's footsteps as a sailor's apprentice. When a ship he was on exploded, with Toshio barely escaping with his life, he took a job at an electric plant run by Konosuke Matsushita, who was married to one of Toshio's sisters. During his tenure at the company, he became an expert salesman, convincing wary resalers of the quality of Matsushita's electric products, which were from Osaka, in an era where most electric goods in Japan were made in Tokyo.[citation needed]
Career at Matsushita
[edit]After serving in the Japanese military, Iue came back to Japan and became Konosuke's brother-in-law once again when he married Mumeno Matsushita. Iue then took the lead in building a wooden boat factory for Matsushita upon request of the Japanese military during World War II. Upon Japan's defeat in the war, the General Headquarters of Allied Forces requested a change in the management of Matsushita, with one of its senior executives required to step down. Iue decided to step down so that Matsushita could continue as the head of the company.[citation needed]
Founding of Sanyo
[edit]After his resignation from Matsushita, Iue was summoned to the office of the president of Sumitomo Bank after an ill-timed loan to acquire shares in Matsushita, which had become close to worthless after Japan's defeat. The bank president forgave Iue's debt, and knowing his prior talent working at Matsushita, offered him starting capital for a new business.[citation needed]
Konosuke Matsushita would lend Iue an unused plant in Hyogo Prefecture, where he followed in his brother-in-law's footsteps by initially making bicycle lamps and captured 60% of the Japanese market. He named his firm Sanyo, meaning "three oceans" in Japanese, hoping that he would be able to sell his products across the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The growing demand for home appliances and washing machines would fuel Sanyo's growth through the 1950s.
Later life
[edit]Iue retired and handed the presidency of Sanyo to his brother in 1968. During his retirement, he worked to promote development of Awaji Island and died in 1969. After a series of unprofitable quarters, Sanyo's story would go full circle as it was acquired in 2009 by Panasonic Corporation, the firm where Iue originally worked at alongside his brother-in-law, Konosuke Matsushita.[citation needed]
Family tree
[edit]Matsushita Uemon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Yasuda Koichiro | Toku Eda | Mastsushita Kusunoki | Hirata Tosuke | Maeda Toshiaki | Mitsui Takamine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tetsujiro Nakao | Yasue | Jun Iue | Yurou Iue | Toshio Iue | Mumeno | Konosuke Matsushita | Hirata Shodo | Shizuko | Maeda Toshisada | Keiko | Mitsui Hachirōemon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Satoshi Iue | Matsushita Sachiko | Masaharu Matsushita | Hirata Katsumi | Nobuko | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Toshimasa Iue | Hiro Matsushita | Masayuki Matsushita ( | Atsuko | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||