Opinion Pieces, Analysis and Columns

Before Linksys reached 64 countries, it began as a small data networking hardware manufacturer in California in 1988. Created by Victor and Janie Tsao, Linksys initially sold networking equipment to home users and small businesses. After many years in the industry and with an acute sense of business acumen, the Tsaos grew their company into one of the most innovative tech companies worldwide. In 2021, the brand was a CES 2021 Innovation Awards Honoree. This American networking equipment firm was also the first to ship 100 million wireless and wired routers globally. 

Many people know Linksys because of its routers. However, the brand also provides other networking hardware. These include security IP cameras, storage, switches, DSL/cable gateways, and wireless access points. Like many other businesses in the networking industry, Linksys started as an independent company. In 2003, it became a subsidiary of Cisco Systems and then Belkin in 2013. From 2018 to the present, Foxconn has been the brand’s parent company. 

How the Tsao’s Founded Linksys 

In 1988, Victor and Janie Tsao founded DEW International. Their young company began in a garage in a cul-de-sac in Irvine, California. The company was born from the dream of becoming independent before the couple reached 40. Before becoming immigrants in the US, the Taiwanese pair met at Tamkang University in Taiwan. Both worked in information technology, with Victor at Taco Bell and Janie at Hawley Hale. 

Jamie launched DEW International as an IT consultancy while Victor remained working at Taco Bell, where he had a good position. Their company worked with domestic tech vendors like Northgate Computer, providing Taiwan-manufactured products. Not long after, the Tsao’s found a deficiency in the American market: cables that connected PCs and printers that extended beyond 15 feet without degrading the data. 

They also realized that the manufacturer that brought this idea to them couldn’t find American partners because they couldn’t speak the language. The Tsao’s partnered with the manufacturer and then renamed their company Linksys. Victor quit his job in 1991 and helped his wife move the firm several times until it reached a 2000-square-foot office. By this time, Linksys was selling 8,000 Multishares, products that could connect multiple computers to multiple printers. The couple’s investment reached only $7,000, and they paid it off within six months. 

Linksys’ Growth and Development 

Soon, the brand expanded and began distributing new products. These included PC-to-PC Ethernet hubs, cords, and cards. They also released products that let small businesses and households connect computers for data sharing. These products put the brand at the top of this niche market, leading to a $6.5 million revenue. During this time, Victor took the position of CEO, managing operations and finances, while Janie dealt with sales as the vice president of business development. 

With its growing into a behemoth of a company, it’s no wonder the firm got its big break in 1995. During that year, Microsoft released Windows 95, which offered many networking functions. This opened the market for Linksys as it specialized in network hardware. Janie Tsao saw this opportunity and grabbed it firmly. She opened their distribution to Fry’s Electronics stores, earning the brand up to $10.7 million. 

A trade show called RetailVision was held in 1996, which Janie Tsao attended. She wanted to market her products to Best Buy but couldn’t find the right opportunity to get a meeting with the distributor’s buyer, Wayne Inouye. She made the conference happen when she tracked Inouye to his hotel room and presented her products. The Best Buy buyer ordered gear worth less than $2 million, which led to immense success in the following years. 

Linksys’ revenue went up to $21.5 million in 1996, $32.1 million in 1997, and $65.6 million in 1998. The company moved from its 2000-square-foot office to a 20,000-square-foot location. Despite its success, the couple remained strict with their spending. 

Gearing up for More Popularity and Success 

The late 90s brought about home broadband Internet, leading to another big opportunity. Cisco was Linksys’ biggest competitor as it already had a router and cord splitter that let several PCs connect to one modem. However, this product cost $500 or more and was too complex for most home users. These home users wanted something simple and cheaper, and the Tsaos’ networking firm provided just that. 

Their multiport router cost only $199 and used a browser-like program that facilitated the installation. Before the turn of the century, the company’s share of the networking market jumped from 10.8% to 18.6%. Its popularity also meant that the brand was the leading hardware provider in the home networking industry. 

Wireless networking followed and became the fad in 2001, thanks to the release of Wi-Fi or the 802.11b wireless transmission standard. Linksys released a system of computer cards and wireless routers. Because of its popularity, it became the go-to Wi-Fi router brand for many consumers. Growth was consistent; by 2005, the firm owned 49% of the networking market. 

Becoming a Subsidiary of Various Companies 

In 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. made a deal to buy Linksys for $500 million. Cisco kept the brand name and will operate it as an autonomous division of the company. The newly acquired networking business will also have access to Cisco’s sales infrastructure and service provider channel. The main reason for the sale was Cisco’s reentry into the home and consumer networking market. 

The partnership further expanded the company’s product line. Later, the Linksys Voice System and Business Series brands were released. 

This acquisition only lasted ten years. In 2013, Cisco needed to return to its core enterprise networking roots and away from the consumer industry. Thus, it sold the Linksys division to Belkin for an undisclosed sum, giving the latter 30% of the home router market. 

The company gained a new parent company when Foxconn bought Belkin and its subsidiaries, Linksys and Wemo, in 2018 for $866 million. 

Scandals Linked with the Networking Company 

FSF Suit on Copyright Violations 

In 2008, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Cisco. The lawsuit states that some Linksys products sold under Cisco violated the licenses of several programs over which the FSF has copyright. These programs include GCC, the GNU C Library, and Binutils. These programs have permits under the GNU General Public License (GPL) and the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL). 

The licenses encourage tech companies to modify the software as they see fit and distribute it to others under certain conditions. One condition says that redistributors must provide the program’s source code to the recipients. The FSF found that Cisco shared licensed software without providing the corresponding source code. 

Cisco insisted that they complied with the open-source software obligations and responsibilities. 

Data Leaks through Smart Wi-Fi Routers 

In 2019, Bad Packet, a security research site, believed that 25,000 Smart Wi-Fi routers were vulnerable to remote exploitations, which can lead to sensitive data leaks. The security site used honeypots and learned that many products allowed unauthenticated, remote access to sensitive information. 

Its scans showed that over 25,000 routers leaked MAC addresses, device names, OS types, WAN settings, firewall status, DDNS configurations, and firmware update settings. These pieces of information could unmask the identity of a consumer and geolocate them via the router’s public IP address. 

The company responded by testing the flagged router models with the latest publicly available firmware. It then stated that they couldn’t reproduce the same results Bad Packet found and concluded that remote attackers couldn’t get sensitive data through the mentioned technique. 

How Linksys Adapted During the Pandemic 

Despite launching several products during the pandemic, Linksys also suffered some setbacks during that time. Like all other tech companies, its revenue decreased during the beginning and height of the pandemic. We also couldn’t find more information about how the firm reacted to the situation by way of safety and health practice. 

What Linksys Offers Today 

The many products provided by Linksys include Wi-Fi routers, home mesh Wi-Fi systems, wireless access points, business network switches, home network switches, and range extenders. The brand’s services provide connectivity solutions for the home, business, and enterprise. 

Linksys continues to provide products that adapt well to the challenges of the current times, such as the changes during the pandemic. It still creates and innovates products to bridge connectivity and offer convenience to its consumers. 

Before it split into two independent bodies, Motorola, Inc. was established in 1928 as the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation by brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin. Its first product was a battery eliminator, but the device that put the company on the map was the car radio called Motorola. The firm steadily grew and ballooned, increasing its product lines to television sets, two-way radios, cellular phones, and electronic devices. 

It was the first recipient of the 1988 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, an award honoring the company’s leadership in quality products and services. The brand’s growth also put it on the Fortune 500 list as the 23rd biggest US public company in 1994, with a $22 billion revenue and profit of nearly $2 billion. 

Galvin Manufacturing Corporation 

This long-standing company began with Paul V. Galvin, born in 1895 in Harvard, Illinois. After retiring as an artillery officer during the First World War, Galvin entered the Illinois Institute of Technology. In 1928, Paul Galvin and his brother, Joseph, founded the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation. Their company’s first product was the battery eliminator, a device that connected direct-current radios to the alternating current popular in most US households. 

In 1930, the Galvin Manufacturing Corporation launched and mass-produced a low-cost car radio called Motorola. The name came from the term “motorcar” and “ola,” a prevalent ending for most company names at the time. This affordable and widely accessible product boomed in popularity, pushing the company to dive deeper into the radio industry. A few years later, Galvin Manufacturing began diversifying its products, releasing home tabletop radios and the first car radio with push-button dialing. 

In the Great Depression, the firm cut two-thirds of its workforce. The brothers also took work from other firms while their workers were on strike. The Second World War in 1940 tested the company’s innovation once more. Paul Galvin focused on researching and producing technology the military could buy and use. It led to the creation of the Handie-Talkie two-way radio, followed shortly by the Walkie-Talkie, two of the most central pieces of communications equipment in WWII. 

Police cars in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were also the first to use the Motorola FM car two-way radio system. Later, Yellow Cab Co. taxies in Cleveland, Ohio, began using the brand’s first commercial FM two-way taxi communications system. The brand continued to release another similar tech for other industries and services throughout the United States. 

Going Public and Expansion 

Galvin Manufacturing began to sell stock publicly in 1943. After four years, the brothers change their company name to Motorola, Inc. In the same year of the rebranding, the company’s net sales doubled to $46.6 million from $23.2 million in 1946. Its net earnings increased dramatically from $656,396 in 1946 to $2.5 million in 1947. Key players in Motorola’s future development, engineer Daniel Noble and Robert Galvin, Paul Galvin’s son, joined its ranks at this time. 

With the war ended, the firm redirected its product focus to entertainment devices and electronics. The Golden View, the brand’s first television set, entered the market at a much lower price than its competitors. It was also compact, which attracted many consumers to buy it, pushing the company to become the fourth-largest television seller in the United States. 

When Bell Laboratories created the transistor in 1948, the firm formed a group for developing semiconductors. The initial result was a three-amp power transistor. The brand also began supplying transistors to other companies that sold and used its products, effectively selling parts to competitors. 

The 1950s was another vital year for the tech brand because it established many novel features in television technology. For example, it found a way to reduce the 41 tubes in black-and-white TV sets to only 19. The venture began when the firm used a colored television design by Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). The project didn’t launch as intended when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rejected it in favor of the system made by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). 

Acquisitions and Deals 

Before 1947 ended, Motorola acquired Detrola, an automobile radio manufacturer for the Ford Motor Company. A condition of the acquisition stated that the manufacturing contract with Ford should remain, which only reinforced Motorola’s car radio business. It soon supplied 50% of the car radios for Ford and Chrysler and 100% of automobile radios for American Motors. 

The company also bought and sold several other firms throughout the 1960s into the 1970s. The first was Lear Inc’s Lear Cal Division, an aircraft radio manufacturer, which Motorola sold shortly after the purchase. The next acquisition and then divestment was the hearing aids manufacturer Dalberg Company. Other acquisitions included firms in the funeral home, chemical, broadcasting, and recreation industries. 

Without these smaller acquisitions, Motorola wouldn’t expand its operations beyond the US and instituted progressive marketing policies. The organization also gradually discontinued manufacturing consumer products in favor of fabricating high-tech electronic components. Another example is the Codex acquisition in 1977 for an exchange of stock over $80 million. 

The next big thing for Motorola occurred when it bought the California-based computer and terminal manufacturer Four-Phase Systems, Inc. for $253 million in 1981. While Four-Phase was a failing and dying business, Motorola saw great potential in this custom computer manufacturer. With Codex and Four-Phase, the company could finally enter office automation and distributed data processing fields. 

Business Troubles 

Trade Wars with the Japanese 

Starting from the early 1976s to the late 1980s, the company began developing cellular or mobile phones. However, the brand didn’t commercialize its first cellular telephone network operation until 1983, after $200 million and 20 years in development. Its troubles began when it encountered licensing and construction problems. Users also complained about its phone’s reliability and quality, often comparing them to Japanese-produced remote phones. 

When Japanese companies cut their mobile phone prices and sold them in surplus to the US to gain a large market share, Motorola requested sanctions against these companies. The US barricaded eight Japanese companies from “dumping” their surplus products to the US market, making Motorola the top cellular phone supplier globally. 

Despite this, it still attempted to set deals with Japanese companies. However, when the firm released the world’s smallest portable phone, Nagoya and Tokyo barred the product, denying Motorola 60% of the $750 million Japanese mobile phone market. The brand went to the US government to complain, forcing then-President George Bush to publicly accuse the Japanese of unfair trade. He also threatened to take action if the nation didn’t remove barriers to free trade. 

Surviving the Tech and Telecom Crash 

In the mid-1990s, Motorola was one of the leading mobile phone brands. Yet, after a few years, its Finnish rival Nokia overtook the American brand and became the world’s largest mobile phone maker. On top of the competition, its Iridium satellite system, made in 1980 to provide universal coverage, declared bankruptcy. The company had to sell it for $25 million, a far cry from its initial $5 billion investment. 

The 2000 tech and telecom crash caused the brand’s price to fall almost 40%. The 2001 World Trade Center attacks followed, succeeded by the 2002 SARS scare, which slowed its international supply chains and caused sales to crash. Its revenues sank by almost $8 billion, and its losses reached almost $4 billion. 

Then-CEO and Chairman Chris Galvin had to cut 56,000 employees and close plants, including a new $90 million plant. He developed and marketed a new digital phone, the Razr. He didn’t keep his position long enough to see it launch. Because of the recent events, the board fired Chris, removing the Galvins from the business. Months after Galvin left the company in 2005, the Motorola Razr hit the market, selling 50 million units in its first two years. 

However, it lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, forcing the long-standing company to split into independent companies in 2011. Motorola Mobility LLC continued the cellular telephone and home networking business. This spin-off, headquartered in Chicago, Motorola Mobility, became a Google acquisition in 2012 for $12.5 billion and then a Lenovo subsidiary in 2014 for $2.91 billion. Motorola Solutions took over the business and government fields as the original brand successor, assembling computer networks and manufacturing two-way radios. The latter has its headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois. 

COVID-19 Response 

Both Motorola successors suffered losses during the pandemic but soon rebounded after a year. Motorola Solutions responded with sanitation, health, and social distancing measures. 

We couldn’t find further information on the two companies during the pandemic. 

Motorola’s Successors Today 

Motorola Mobility runs in the consumer electronics industry. It has expanded its mobile phone and television lines to include smartwatches and accessories. The enterprise-oriented Motorola Solutions entered the telecommunications equipment field, offering mission-critical communications, command center software, video security, access control, managed, and support services. Its products have expanded beyond police radios to include body cameras, push-to-talk LTE devices, and video security systems. 

Created in 1989 in Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan, Zyxel Communications Corporation began with a handful of engineers and the leadership of Shun-I Chu. The brand began its journey with a modem, followed by a 3-in-1 modem that allowed users to send fax, data, and voice. The company’s innovations continued throughout the following years as it expanded further into the networking industry. It began offering wireless routers, firewalls, and software. The brand also began expanding globally, beginning in Europe.   

In 1999, Zyxel entered the Taiwan Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol 3704. Seventeen years later, it built Unizyx Holdings, leaving public stock trading and becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of the holdings company. Today, the brand remains a steadfast provider of modems, mesh networks, home Wi-Fi solutions, and more.  

Dr. Shun-I Chu and How Zyxel Began 

In 1988, Dr. Shun-I Chu rented an apartment in Taoyuan, Taiwan, with a team of four engineers to start a lab and business developing an analog modem. We lack information on what this modem did, but it helped push the blooming business into its foundation. In 1989, Shun-I Chu’s company, called Zyxel Communications Corporation, was launched at Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan. The brand’s Chinese name means “cooperative and diligent,” reflecting the organization’s history.  

Two years after its establishment, the Taiwanese networking brand developed its first modem. In 1992, Zyxel became the first to create an integrated 3-in-1 data, fax, and voice modem, followed by the world’s first analog/digital ISDN modem in 1995. These breakthroughs paralleled the technology boom of the early 1990s and likely increased advanced Taiwan’s standing in the tech and telecommunications industries.  

In the same year it developed its first router, Zyxel went international in 1996 when it built its first overseas subsidiary in the United States. After a couple of years, it launched a subsidiary in Denmark, its first European affiliate. Also, in 1998, the company developed and launched the ZyNOS or Zyxel Network Operating System. ZyNOS is a proprietary platform created exclusively for Zyxel devices.  

Going Public  

With its continuous developments and offers, the business also grew in size. Soon, Zyxel had grown larger enough to apply for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. The brand stepped into the Taiwanese stock market in 1999 with the ticker code 3704. The same year witnessed Zyxel entering the broadband industry with its release of an ADSL router that supported PPPoE or Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet connections. This new router model opened new possibilities for its customers, especially those in office buildings.  

Going public on the Taiwan Stock Exchange pushed the company further into the wireless telecommunications area. Still led by Shun-I Chu, the company looked into and invested in the network security, WLAN, and central office equipment market. Shortly after becoming a public company, the firm released three new products: its first firewall, WLAN gateway, and DSLAM products. In 2001, the telecommunications brand expanded into Mainland China.  

Its continuous development and research led to several accolades. In 2003, Zyxel took the eighth rank in Taiwan’s Top 10 Global Brands by Interbrand. BusinessNext also picked it as the 2nd Top Telecom Equipment Maker in the Taiwan Technology Top 100. These recognitions made the firm even more popular and successful. 

In 2004, it earned some more accolades, had revenue surpassing the NT$10 billion milestone, and became the Most Admired Company in Taiwan by the Common Wealth Magazine. The brand also became the largest DSL router brand maker in Europe just as it entered the Voice-over-IP market. 

In the following years, Zyxel continued to gain recognition in the tech and telecommunications scene. It also established many more branches in many other countries, like Costa Rica, Japan, and Ukraine. 

The company also introduced several firsts in the world. In 2014, it released the world’s first ADSL2+ gateway, which boosts the data rate used for file sharing, surfing, and video conferencing. A year later, it released the first palm-sized portable personal firewall, followed by the first Gigabit active fiber and Telco-grade IPv6 end-to-end solution. The company was the first globally to release a product with a carbon footprint verification in 2010.   

Becoming a Unizyx Subsidiary 

On August 16, 2010, the Unizyx Holding Corporation was established in Hsinchu, Taiwan, to reorganize Zyxel Communications. With the formation of Unizyx, Zyxel became its 100%-held subsidiary via a share swap with the parent holding company. Becoming a subsidiary of Unizyx led to a share swap. On September 2010, Zyxel stocks stopped being publicly traded with the approval of the Securities and Futures Bureau. The company’s ODM business unit, MitraStar Technology, also spun off in January 2011, also becoming a 100%-held Unizyx Holdings subsidiary. 

The firm received its fourteenth consecutive Best Taiwan Global Brands Award in 2016 from the Industrial Development Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan and Interbrand. With its reception of the award, the company rebranded and changed its tagline to “Your Networking Ally.” In 2019, it won the 20-year award from the International Computer Security Association (ICSA) Labs for its anti-virus, anti-spyware software, and web application firewalls.  

Assets and Subsidiaries 

In early 2013, the company set up Sphairon GmbH to expand into the European market. It also set up a Middle Eastern sub-subsidiary later that year called Zyxel Technology Middle East FZE to boost its standing in that area of the world. 

In 2019, Zyxel Networks spun off from Zyxel Communications Corporation. The new business will focus on developing the channel business to provide application services and products for home users and businesses. Meanwhile, the main company will devote its strengths to the structural and service needs of telco providers and the development of the telecommunications market.  

Problems Encountered by the Brand  

2021 Backdoor Account Scandal 

In 2021, security researchers from Eye Control found an admin-level backdoor account in over 100,000 of Zyxel’s firewalls, access point controllers, and VPN gateways. This backdoor account could give cyber attackers root access to the devices, granting one of the worst types of vulnerabilities to users. Some affected devices included top business-grade products often bought by private enterprises and government set-ups. The company released security patches for the affected product lines and encouraged device owners to update their systems.  

Company During the Pandemic 

The company’s revenues dropped in 2020, reflecting the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Its total global revenue of $24 million in 2019 went down to $22 million in 2020. Its net losses increased, too.  

However, as more people turned to school and work-from-home solutions, demands for its products skyrocketed. Since the company provided telecommunications and networking hardware and services, its potential in the market also shot up swiftly. Its growth did not come without challenges and competition. 

For example, the company had to compete against brands that provided LTE, network security, high-speed home network, and 5G technologies. To maintain a prominent position in the market, the brand engaged in tech developments, provided sought-after products & services, and invested in forward-looking technologies. 

Products Offered Today 

Since its foundation, Zyxel Communications Corporation has flourished in the telecommunications industry with routers and modems. These backbone products remain in Zyxel’s offerings for small to large businesses, along with switches, mobile broadband devices, and firewalls. The brand also provides training like webinars and certification programs. It also provides hardware made for consumers’ homes, like home Wi-Fi systems, extenders, routers, powerlines, DSL CPE, and personal cloud storage. 

While Zyxel Networks is for business and home users, the Zyxel Communications arm is for service providers. Its solutions include fiber access, 5G, Wi-Fi 6 systems, End-to-End services, and more. Accompanying these services are Ethernet CPE, DSL CPE, fiber products, network extenders, carrier & access switches, mesh networking equipment, VoIP telephones, and more. Zyxel’s products are the fruits of its three research centers, four regional headquarters, and over 35 branch office.

Kenwood Limited began with Kenneth Maynard Wood, from whom the company name also came. Before it was called Kenwood, the company was first Woodlau Industries in 1947, a time when Kenneth Wood worked with a colleague called Roger Laurence. Their first location was in Woking, and their first product was the A100, a turnover toaster. When Laurence left the company, Wood renamed it and relocated to Havant, UK. One of the brand’s best and most-known products is the Kenwood Chef, a food mixer launched in 1950.   

Despite starting out as an independent company, Kenwood began operating under the De’Longhi Group in 2001, shortly after founder Kenneth Wood died. The firm has also launched several firsts in the 21st century, like the Cooking Chef XL and Titanium Chef Patissier XL stand mixers released in 2020, which integrated touchscreens and app accessibility. Its other products include hand mixers, mixer attachments, kettles, toasters, and blenders.  

Kenneth Wood, Founder of Kenwood 

Kenneth Maynard Wood, born in October 1916 in Lewisham, London, was the grandson of a confectionery manufacturer. He joined the merchant navy at fourteen years old in 1930 and then took accountancy and electrical engineering. By 1936, he already has his first company, Dickson & Wood, which sold, installed, and repaired radios and televisions.  

Wood joined the Royal Air Force in 1939, becoming an engineer at the Admiralty, where he developed radar and electronic controls. Ever the businessman Wood established Woodlau Industries in 1947 after the war with Roger Laurence, a colleague he met during the war. Set in Wood’s garage in Woking, their company produced appliances. Their first launched product was the A100 toaster that could turn toast automatically. 

It was followed by the A200 food mixer, which is a predecessor of the Kenwood Chef food mixer that came out in 1950. This kitchen machine launched at the Ideal Home Exhibition and initially had only three speeds. However, with how much time it helped kitchen users save, the device sold out within a week and brought back a 1.5-million-pound turnover. The Kenwood Chef food mixer became a key product in Kenwood’s history thanks to its then-ground-breaking ability to slice, chop, and peel.  

Some years after the foundation of Woodlau, Roger Laurence left the company. This change pushed Wood to change his company name to Kenwood Manufacturing Company Ltd. The company also switched its headquarters from Woking to Havant in Hampshire from 1960 to 1961, a place where it could accommodate a workforce of 700 people and produce more kitchen appliances.  

Following this immense success in the company’s history were more kitchen products that pioneered design and functionality. Some of those products were the first in the world to have electronic speed control after the firm released this feature in 1973. The brand launched its first food processor, the Kenwood processor de-luxe, in 1979. This new machine helped save time, thanks to its ability to chop, mix, and process foods quickly. It even came with several attachments with various functionalities. 

Becoming a De’Longhi Subsidiary 

For the next several decades, Kenwood Limited stayed on track, releasing and improving its kitchen devices. In 1989, it built its first factory in China. Since then, the company has manufactured and imported its products from China. In 1997, its founder Kenneth Wood died at 81 due to an illness. 

Four years after Wood’s death and just in time for the turn of the century, Kenwood Limited joined the De’Longhi Group. It is an international Italian home appliance group that bought out several appliance brands. The Kenwood purchase in 2001 cost the De’Longhi brand £45.9 million or about $66.7 million. The acquisition also meant that De’Longhi had access to Kenwood’s Chinese factories. De’Longhi retained its engineering and design teams in Italy while its product manufacturing occurred in China. In 2009, Kenwood invented the Cooking Chef, a stand mixer with a built-in heating element allowing for simultaneous cooking and mixing.  

While the company remained largely silent on the global stage in the next decade, an interesting event occurred in 2013. Kenneth Grange, the original designer of the Kenwood Chef, was knighted for services to design during the New Year Honors of 2013. Kenneth Grange hadn’t only designed the Kenneth Chef but has also created kettles for Kenwood Limited, washing machines for Bendix, pens for Parker, and postboxes for the Royal Mail.  

The company launched Chef Sense in 2014, which connected the brand further with customers. This new kitchen machine could mix, knead, whisk, and fold. Five years later, during its 70th year anniversary, the company launched its first app-controlled product, the kCook Multi Smart. It was a connected robot that provided assistance in the kitchen through recipes. It had an integrated scale and was accessible through an Android or iOS smartphone. It could also do other tasks older Kenwood all-in-one machines could do, like heating, mixing, chopping, kneading, whisking, steaming, and beating. 

The small kitchen appliance company entered the 2020 era with a brand-new product that integrated touchscreen control into its specialties. Its newest launched products were the Cooking Chef XL and the Titanium Chef Patissier XL stand mixers. These kitchen machines also had app connectivity, allowing users to control them from across the kitchen, in the dining room, or even from outside the home. 

Kenwood Limited Acquisitions and Subsidiaries 

Our research showed that Kenwood Limited didn’t buy out or acquire any company or firm as a subsidiary. 

Major and Devastating Scandals 

The company Kenwood Limited has no major scandals or issues that we could find in our research.  

Kenwood Limited during the Pandemic 

Like all other companies during the pandemic, Kenwood Limited experienced an initial crash in 2020. Yet, as more people stayed indoors, the demand for small household and kitchen appliances grew, which included many of Kenwood’s products. According to the De’Longhi report, their revenues for cooking and food prep products increased 10.2% organically, with Kenwood brand machines closing the year strongly with its sales increase.  

Considering the public’s expectations of smart electronics, the company’s release of the Cooking Chef XL and Titanium Chef Patissier XL had great timing. They didn’t only present a smart kitchen feature but also let users save time and effort in their household activities. 

What Does Kenwood Limited Cover Today? 

The company has stuck to its roots, improving small kitchen appliances and machines with digital and electronic integrations. Today, the brand’s top products include stand mixers, food processors, and mixer attachments. Its webpage provides several recipes for which you can use its other products to create. These other products are hand mixers, kettles, toasters, and hand blenders. 

Before it became the multinational conglomerate corporation it is today, Siemens AG began as an installer and manufacturer of telegraphic systems in 1847 in Berlin, Germany. It started as a small business called Siemens & Halske with a business-minded war veteran and engineer named Werner Siemens and his business partner J.G. Halske. The firm advanced under the management of the Siemens family as technology did in the Industrial Revolution. 

 The German conglomerate now has its headquarters in Munich and Berlin. It trades with the ticker SIE on Xetra and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Some products and services include telecommunications equipment, home appliances, industrial and buildings automation, medical equipment, financing, and gas and steam turbines.  

Founder and Origins of Siemens 

Siemens AG began with Werner Siemens and J.G. Halske in 1847 in Berlin, Germany. At that time, Werner had finished his military career as an artillery officer for the Prussian army and had earned an electroplating patent as an engineer. Werner created Siemens & Halske (S&H) with his business partner to produce telegraphic systems. Their first commission was to build a telegraph link between Frankfurt and Berlin, occurring only a year after the company’s foundation. 

Thanks to its early start in the telegraph industry, S&H’s business boomed in the following years. One major project was in 1853 to build a telegraph system in Russia. After the firm completed the commission, it set up a St. Petersburg office under Carl, Werner’s brother. After a few years, the S&H firm developed the first deep sea telegraphic cable, which led to the spin-off of its London office into an independent company headed by another brother, Wilhelm. Later, this spin-off company was renamed Siemens Brothers.  

From 1867-1870, the Siemens Brothers worked on the 11,000-kilometer Indo-European telegraph line that ran from London, UK, to Calcutta, India. Similar projects followed this, launching the brothers’ company successfully. By 1874, the brand had enough to launch a cable-laying ship called the Faraday, co-designed by William Siemens. The ship’s first direct transatlantic cable project ran from Ireland to the United States.  

Expansion During and Beyond the Industrial Revolution 

After Alexander Graham Bell released the telephone to the market in 1877, Werner Siemens patented an improved version and immediately began production. In 1890, Werner retired, leaving his company to Carl and his sons, Arnold and Wilhelm, as a limited partnership. Even after Werner died two years later, the brand continued to prosper with a power station at Erding, Bavaria, and the founding of the S&H Electric Company subsidiary in Chicago, US. 

Like the invention of the telephone, the launch of the X-ray in 1895 pushed S&H to create the first patent for an X-ray tube only one year later. Similar events continued as the 20th century rolled in. In 1909, it developed an automatic telephone exchange and installed it around Munich, servicing 2,500 clients. 

Not long after, World War I broke out, forcing the company to shift its product of civilian electrical components to military communication devices plus other equipment. These included gun locks for rifles, explosives, and aircraft engines. A key input by S&H to the war effort was a fire control system for battle cruisers. In 1916, in the Battle of Jutland, a squadron of the High Seas Fleet fought against British battlecruisers. The German cruisers sank two British ships, giving the German navy a huge advantage with its more advanced gunnery equipment, making this battle a highlight for the Germans in WWI.  

Another contribution constructed by the company was the Ardnacrusha Hydro Power Station, the first for its design in 1920. Its goal with the hydropower station was to raise the wages of underpaid workers in the then-Irish Free State. However, the dream didn’t come to fruition after the Cumann na nGaedheal government overruled it.  

The problem with war was that it hurt the business in the long run. In 1915, the British government took over Siemens Brothers and sold it to British interests a year later. The Siemens family didn’t get the business back, but its new owners kept the brand name. After the Bolshevik government seized power in Russia in 1917, the brand’s St. Petersburg subsidiary also had assets of 50 million rubles (or just under $685,000 today). 

The Third Reich brought immense expansion to the firms, collectively called the House of Siemens. During WWIII, the House ran all its plants at full capacity and had been dispersed throughout Germany to avoid air strikes. Almost of its 400 alternative or relocated manufacturing plants were operating from late 1944-early 1945. After WWII, 90% of its plants in Soviet-occupied Germany were seized while the Western powers destroyed its facilities. 

In 1949, the company set up its new headquarters in Munich, and production of consumer electronics, railroad, telephone, power generating, and medical equipment resumed. The reorganization of the House of Siemens, run by Hermann von Siemens, led to its establishment of a New York subsidiary, Siemens Inc. It sold an electron microscope to the American market first.  

With the expansion of modern scientific breakthroughs, the brand entered the fields of nuclear power and data processing in the mid-1950s. It released a mainframe computer in 1955 and opened its first nuclear reactor at Munich Garching in 1959. The brand made it to Mars in the 1960s with the development of a disc seal triode, which the space probe Mariner IV used in its transmitter. The firm provided a high-speed passenger train when the German Federal Railway came into service in 1965.  

Ernst von Siemens reorganized the company in 1966 to bring all the brand’s subsidiaries under the parent company. It led to the reincorporation of the company as Siemens AG and a decade of prosperity. For example, the 1972 summer Olympic Games were held in Munich with Siemens as the official contractor of telecommunications and data processing equipment.  

In the following decades, the company worked with other brands to establish itself in other markets. It also used its resources to acquire different subsidiaries. Even in the 21st century, the brand continued to buy, sell, and form joint ventures with other firms. These events established the Siemens brand in areas like gas, power, smart infrastructure, and financial services. 

Going Public  

The Siemens brand has had its shares publicly listed on the stock market since March 1899. It trades on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FWB) and Xetra with the ticker code SIE. It is also an important stock in the DAX40. 

Siemens Acquisitions and Subsidiaries 

In 1903, the company established a subsidiary dedicated to electric power engineering, Siemens Schuckertwerke GmbH (SSW). In 1932, Reiniger, Gebbert & Schall, and Phönix AG merged with the company, forming Siemens-Reiniger-Werke AG (SRW). This new firm produced medical therapeutic and diagnostic equipment, like X-ray machines. In 1966, S&H, SSW, and SRW merged, forming Siemens AG. In 1969, the company created Kraftwerk Union by pooling its nuclear power business with AEG.  

The first digital telephone exchange by Siemens came out in 1980. In 1985, the company bought Allis Chalmer’s interest in the Siemens-Allis partnership, which was incorporated into the brand’s Energy and Automation division. This firm traded electrical control equipment. Three years later, Siemens Plessey was established, previously Plessey, the UK defense and technology company. Under the new management, the business focused on avionics, radar, and traffic control services.  

Nixdorf Computer AG was also given the same branding in 1991, becoming Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG, which assembled personal computers. The company acquired the Tennessee-based Industrial Systems Division of Texas Instruments, Inc. It became the industrial automation arm of the brand before it was absorbed by this energy and automation division. 

Many similar events occurred in the following decades, pushing the company brand out into other areas, like medical engineering, real-time data organization, wind energy, and more.  

Dealing with COVID-19 

The company experienced a short crash during the pandemic. In 2020, its revenue dipped to €55.2 million ($58.3 million) from €56.7 million ($59.9 million) in 2019. The net income for 2019 was €5.6 million ($5.9 million), which flopped to €4.2 million ($4.4 million) in 2020. 

Since the pandemic started, it has provided aid funds reaching around $19 million. The money went to affected communities, the production of face shields, and other essential activities. The company also tackled the problems of working on-site by providing remote-work opportunities. It partnered with other companies to conduct hiring programs and more.  

What It Offers Today 

Siemens produces, sells, and provides various things in many areas. In building technology, its products include security, fire safety, building automation and control, energy and sustainability, HVAC products, and a digital building lifecycle. Its industrial automation arm offers industrial controls, software, operator control & monitoring systems, power supplies, automation systems, and more.  

The brand’s Mobility arm portfolio includes rail, road, and intermodal services. The company sells consumer products like switches, socket outlets, home appliances, and electrical installation systems.  

Other market-specific solutions include aerospace, solar, healthcare, battery manufacturing, tire manufacturing, and many more.  

Before the brand became a multinational corporation, Gigaset started as an arm of one of the biggest tech companies in Germany, Siemens. It started as the Siemens Home and Office Communication Devices department. This communications department has roots dating back to 1948 when Siemens released its first telephone. Despite this long-time history in the industry, the true birth of Gigaset occurred in 2008 when Arques Industries bought 80% of the Siemens tech arm. The new company was renamed Gigaset, harkening to its most popular product. 

The Goldin Group later bought 55% interest in the company in 2013. Since then, the brand has grown beyond the telephone market. Based in Bocholt, Germany, the tech brand now also sells smart home products, smart security, VoIP telephones, cordless phones, and business telephony solutions.  

Coming From the Siemens Brand 

Before it became Gigaset AG, the company operated under Siemens Home and Office Communications Devices GmbH & Co. KG. Since 1941, it has researched and worked on manufacturing cordless phones under Siemens. Siemens AG is a German brand of tech products that produces a variety of products, including telecommunications equipment. The company produced its first telephone in 1948 and transmission equipment a decade later. 

Siemens set up a Bocholt-based Research & Development center in 1982. After eleven years of research and design, the brand began producing cordless telephones with the DECT standard. The Digital Enhanced Cordless Communications radio standard or DECT is something the company developed for wireless communication that’s used worldwide today. In 1997, the firm formed a new production facility with an area of 10,000 square meters. At the start of the 21st century, it began the production of GSM or Global System for Mobile Communication products. These were mobile devices that communicated with cell sites and used voice and data input/output.  

The Siemens telecommunications arm also manufactured WiMAX and IP phones in 2005. Because of the popularity of their Gigaset phones, the phone brand reached its 100 millionth production in 2007. Before it became an independent company, it was a troubled business in early 2008. In October 2008, the private equity firm Arques Industries, based in Munich, bought an 80.2% equity interest in the Siemens telephone manufacturing unit from Siemens AG for 45 million euros (or under $48 million). 

After the Arques acquisition, the brand stayed within Germany, with its headquarters in Bocholt, where most of its manufacturing takes place. The business was initially renamed Gigaset Communications a year after the acquisition, taking inspiration from one of its popular phone lines. Its production of Gigaset phones continued, leading to the 150 millionth production of the model in 2011. At this point, the brand had expanded its production to other telecommunications devices and services, including smartphones and VoIP phones.  

In 2013, the Goldin Group acquired a 55.5% interest in Gigaset AG. Goldin Group is a Hong Kong-based multinational company with core businesses focused on financial services, consumer electronics, and property.  

In 2014, the company installed a U-shaped line for the lean manufacturing of products like Maxwell 10. The Maxwell 10 was a complex telephony product designed for professional or business use. The company also began incorporating newer manufacturing and assembly installations. An excellent example was Gigaset’s human-robot collaboration (HRC) line in 2016. The new assembly system pushed the brand into producing its 200 millionth phone only one year later. After three years, its 220 millionth phone was announced, marking the demand and popularity of the brand.  

Trading Publicly 

Shares of Gigaset AG are on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange for public trade, listed under the stock symbol GGS. The company’s IPO or initial public offering was on April 14, 2004. It also exchanges on the stock exchanges for Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, and Stuttgart.  

Company Acquisitions and Agreements 

We couldn’t find more data on the acquisitions the company has made over the years based on our research. The only information we have refers to Gigaset Communications GmbH as a subsidiary of Gigaset AG. 

In 2020, Gigaset Communications GmbH made a partnership with Unify Software and Solutions GmbH & Co. KG. The agreement involved Gigaset purchasing licenses for interfaces and software components for 15 million euros (about $16 million).  

Scandals Involving the Company  

Our research hasn’t led to any significant problems or scandals Gigaset has faced that involved risking the safety and security of its customers. 

Some legal disputes we could find involved its subsidiaries. For example, its Spanish subsidiary, Gigaset Communications Iberia, was issued with a fine of 2.0 million euros. The basis for the administrative fine was the objection of the Spanish tax authorities to one of its tax assessments.  

How the Tech Company Endured the Pandemic  

Following the boom of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gigaset incurred a consolidated net loss of 10.4 million euros (about $11.1 million) for 2020. With the challenge of handling the pandemic, the demand for its products in international markets declined. The company decided to increase its production of easy-use phones, design phones, and smartphones instead to make up for the 12.7% revenue decline for standard phones. It launched the GS3 and GS4 smartphones, which drove the smartphone market in 2021, leading to the success of the GS5 smartphone launch.  

Another market that had an initial crash followed by a surge was the smart home business. In 2020, the company experienced a 40% decline in revenue in the segment. In 2021, its core markets (Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands) realized the need for home security. To provide for this demand, Gigaset added a smart doorbell to its smart home product portfolio. Similar prospects came in cloud solutions and professional (B2B and B2B2C) businesses. 

It wasn’t long before success found Gigaset because of its continuous marketing and product improvement. In 2021, the German tech company generated 217.1 million euros (or $231 million) in revenue, a positive outlook after the crash caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

What Gigaset Covers Today 

Gigaset’s first offerings remain a part of its consumer product portfolio. It provides various telephone types, including VoIP, handsets, cordless, and corded phones. The company also complements its telephone market with the corresponding accessories and spare parts. On the smartphone front, it provides business smartphones, elderly mobile smartphones, and accessories.  

With the modernization of the typical consumer home, Gigaset has also realized the demand for smart home products. Today, it provides smart security products like sensors and alarm systems. It also has smart care and smart comfort products. Examples include an elderly assistance system and intelligent heating control, respectively.  

In the professional market, the company’s offerings range from smartphones to telephones and desktop phones. It also provides systems for scaling a business, office communication, and more. 

The American conglomerate brand, Cisco Systems, started in 1984 and is now a forerunner in the IT and computer networking industry. It specializes in multi-technological articles such as the Internet of Things (IoT), remote access devices, and internet services.

Headquartered in San Jose, California, where its founders got the company name, Cisco Systems serves educational institutions, government organizations, and other small to medium groups that require internet and operating network services. Today, aside from continuing its engagement in communication and other networking products to keep its market standing, Cisco is also a corporation committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and product waste.

Crossing the 500 Yards: The Brain Behind Cisco’s Beginnings

Leonard Bosack and Sandra Lerner, the founders of Cisco systems, met while studying at Stanford University. They eventually married, and after gaining his Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Bosack worked at his alma mater. Later, he was responsible for managing the computers in the Computer Science Department. Meanwhile, Lerner was employed to care for the computers in the Graduate School of Business. There were 500 yards between the spouses, so Bosack devised a plan to connect the departments’ computers through local area networks (LAN) and a multi-protocol router system.

The company’s original product hails from a joint effort of Stanford students, including Bosack, to link the campus’ computer systems together using the “Blue Box.” It was by previous Stanford electrical engineering graduate Andy Bechtolsheim and faculty member William Yeager.

By 1987, Stanford licensed Cisco to use its software and boards. Bosack, Lerner, and another Stanford employee named Kirk Lougheed, significantly contributed to the mainstream commercialization of LANs to connect computers in multi-protocol router systems.

The brand’s name was taken from “San Francisco,” so pioneers chose to use the lowercase “cisco” in its early stages. Although Cisco changed its logo over the years, its constant vertical lines represent the Golden Gate Bridge.

Cisco’s Early Obstacles to Success

Bosack’s 500-yard experiment was a successful internetworking technology the then spouses offered to computer companies. However, no one showed interest in their product. So, Bosack and Lerner made their own company—Cisco Systems, in 1984. Kirk Lougheed, Bill Westfield, and Greg Setz joined Bosack and Lerner as co-founders.

The couple maintained a tight budget to keep the company afloat. They maxed out their credit cards, mortgaged their dwelling, and even had to hold off on paying their team. Lerner also couldn’t let go of his salaried income.

Additionally, although Stanford eventually let Cisco market its software router and boards, Bosack and his peers were let go amidst the university wanting to file criminal charges for the former employees taking advantage of the school’s intellectual property. Stanford initially sued for $11 million but settled for a $150,000 licensing fee plus free support and routers from the brand.

The Foundation: Cisco’s Early Products

Cisco’s first break happened in 1986, in the form of its pioneer router that can support multiple network protocols. Even if the brand wasn’t the first to sell network nodes, its sought-after router allows various network connections to have flexible operating systems for software upgrades. At the time of Cisco’s pioneer router’s immense success, it sold $250,000 worth of routers and raked in more than $1.5 million in monthly sales. However, the group was only eight employees, making the accomplishment challenging to handle.

While Cisco’s target market was initially research centers, government facilities, and universities, it turned its attention to dominant businesses with scattered branches. The brand worked with these prevalent corporations to prove its inter-networking routers’ efficacy and effectively supported their transactions better than any manufacturer. Even with the threat of more competition, it stood its ground through highly functional but reasonably priced routers.

The Toll of Cisco’s Upgrade

With the breakneck growth was the need for more cash to hold up the company’s operations. So despite its booming sales, Bosack and Lerner risked asking for support from Sequoia Capital. Venture capitalist Donald Valentine answered their funding need, but at a high toll: Valentine will have the controlling stake in the company they built.

As the new chairperson, Valentine installed John Morgridge as the president and chief executive officer. Morgridge fired several of the brand’s managers, who were close friends of the founders. He replaced them with more competent ones with much experience under their belts to push the company forward.

By 1989, the business had reached $27 million in revenues with just three products and 111 employees. On February 16, 1990, Cisco registered on NASDAQ with a $224 million market capitalization.

Lerner and Bosack went from owning the company to being transferred as head of customer service and chief scientist, respectively. Lerner was fired after clashing with Morgridge’s leadership shortly after Cisco went public. Bosack resigned not long after in protest. The couple sold their shares for $170 million, most of which were donated to the charities of their choice. In 2009, they received the “Computer Entrepreneur Award” by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society for launching Cisco Systems.

Acquisitions in Preparation for the Dot-Com Bubble

Cisco is the prime example of a success story propelled by the Dot-Com Bubble. As the most valuable brand during the boom of internet usage, Cisco’s initial $224 million capitalization became $500 billion by late March 2000.

To achieve this success, Morgridge focused on direct selling and corporate consumers. This evolution reflected the fast expansion of linking networks and mainframe computers. Additionally, the company also acquired many firms relevant to its operations.

Cisco’s first acquisition happened in September 1993. It purchased Crescendo Communications, a Copper Distributed Data Interface (CDDI) pioneer. The group was after its Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technology. Later, Crescendo was renamed the Workgroup Business Unit. Its complementary technologies of slow and complex and fast but simple became a significant part of Cisco’s routers.

The organization purchased Newport Systems Solutions a year later, securing the software needed to bridge LANS and LAN2LAN products. It also acquired Kalpana, a then computer-networking equipment producer, for a $204 million stock swap. Cisco wanted Kalpana for its Ethernet switches and 40% market share. It also took Lightstream Corporation for $120 million cash for its ATM switches.

John Chambers replaced Morgridge as CEO in 1995 and the latter went on to be the chairman. Under their direction, Cisco bought Selsius Systems three years later for $145 million in stock and cash. This purchase was a critical step to advance the business’ VoIP tech. 

Cisco: Riding the Wave and Continuing Innovation

Instead of fighting against the rising preference for Internet Protocol (IP) versus multi-protocol router systems, Cisco seized the opportunity and manufactured routers such as AS5200 and GSR. It wasn’t easy to keep up with the internet’s ceaseless demands for changes and upgrades. But Cisco had a firm grip on the segment come 1998.

The industry’s profitability lured many startups to create their own software and hardware. One such startup was Juniper Networks, which took 30% of Cisco’s market share.

The group’s response to this challenge was to manufacture the following products:

1. ASICs
2. Fast processing cards for GSR routers
3. Catalyst 6500 switches
4. IOS-XR software
5. CRS-1 hardware

Cisco’s Scandals

• Cisco’s 2013 Tech Flaw. Whistleblower James Glenn discovered the faulty security tech in 2008 and reported it to Cisco. A year later, after he was let go, he checked to see if the company had fixed the problem. It didn’t. When he discovered he could still bypass the system, he contacted the FBI. Cisco allegedly sold video surveillance software susceptible to security breaches to critical government agencies such as Homeland Security and US Secret Service. One of the tech’s major defects was letting an attacker gain “full administrative privileges.” The Justice Department and 18 states filed the complaint against the business. The company agreed to pay $8.6 million in civil damages.
• Cisco and the Golden Shield. Falun Gong practitioners filed against Cisco regarding the brand’s participation in creating the “Golden Shield,” or China’s surveillance and censorship system. They accuse Cisco of inciting Chinese officials to purchase their products through provocatory spiels resulting in members of the religion being targeted, tortured, and killed. The company denied the charges.

Cisco and the Pandemic

Cisco stayed true to its corporate social responsibility during the COVID-19 attack. Its CSR report included:

1. Presented the Business Resiliency Program that offered a 90-day payment break and 95% product cost deferral
2. Prioritized critical customer infrastructure supporting first responders
3. Introduced videoconferencing and security products with free trials
4. Encouraged 140,000 employees and contractors to work remotely
5. Donated to organizations to assist those affected by the pandemic

Cisco maintained its revenue and kept its customers engaged while following health protocols and well-executed remote operations at the height of the pandemic. Further, the company saw high demand for its products during the pandemic recovery, with an astounding 10% product order growth. The only major challenge in their line-up was China, mainly due to the many lockdowns the country imposed.

However, the business also found itself in a bind when lockdowns in China continued in 2022, resulting in declining sales affecting its stock value. 

Cisco Today

Cisco continues to innovate and collaborate with other businesses to keep its favorable position in the industry. It promises to strive to deliver the best for its partners and consumers.

The brand is now re-architecting its network to adapt to users’ demands readily. In the future, we can expect Cisco to acquire more firms to strengthen its power and broaden its reach in the software-defined networking (SDN) and Cloud computing departments.

Founded in 1996, the multinational corporation TP-Link Technologies Co., Ltd has its headquarters in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China. The brand manufactures computer networking products like routers, Ethernet hubs, gateways, and more. After a decade in the business and several product expansions into other networking equipment, TP-Link entered the international market in 2005. It built a US branch in Brea, California, and in 2008 it opened its doors to an overseas target market at a closer distance.  

 The Owners and Idea Behind TP-Link 

Long before TP-Link gained international fame, it began as a small company created to market a networking card created by brothers Zhao Jianjun and Zhao Jiaxing. The brothers felt inspired by Alexander Graham Bell’s invention, the Twisted Pair (TP) wire. The twisted wires could send more data, thanks to the reduced electromagnetic radiation on the data caused by the twist. TP wires provided more reliability and security in data transfer, which the brothers wanted to emulate in their company.  The Zhao brothers produced and marketed the network card and soon expanded their product offers to other networking products.

The company hasn’t provided much information online about the products that played a pivotal role in its early success. However, we can assume that the brand also began selling wireless LAN, routers, switches, and ADSL or 56K modems to Chinese clients. It also did its best to stay true to a business practice many other brands have followed: providing reliable products at an affordable price. In this case, TP-Link offered highly reliable wireless networking products to small businesses and home users at extremely affordable prices.  

Overseas Expansion, from US to Europe

 In 2005, TP-Link entered the international market, deploying its products to other countries. It kept its business practice of providing affordable and reliable products, which international clients appreciated. Its success led to the company’s relocation to a new headquarters and facility at the Hi-Tech Industry Park in Shenzhen, China, in 2007. The firm’s new location was 100,000 square meters wide. A year after this move, the company established TP-Link USA, a plant in Brea, California, that tested the American market thoroughly.  

In the following decade, TP-Link retained steady business, slowly growing its worldwide presence. Since opening an overseas branch in California, it has deployed its products to over 120 countries, opened various R&D branches globally, and expanded its product lines. The brand redesigned its logo and modified its slogan to “Reliably Smart” in September 2016. The rebranding resulted from the company’s expansion into the smart home product market. 

 Product and Service Recognition

In the following years, the firm released several solutions and products that improved its standing in the networking industry. In 2017, it launched the Deco M5, the brand’s first complete whole-home Wi-Fi system. In that same year, it ranked as the highest in customer satisfaction among wireless router providers. As a smart home product manufacturer, it also released smart lighting products, range extenders, cloud-based smart home platforms, smart plugs, smart cameras, and more.  

 In 2021, TP-Link received an iF Design Award for the Deco Voice X20 Mesh Wi-Fi system under the Product Design – Telecommunication category. The award came from iF International Forum Design GmbH (iF), the world’s oldest independent design organization based in Hannover, Germany. The Deco Voice X20 used the Wi-Fi 6 system and was the first with a voice-first capability via Alexa Built-in. On top of providing whole-home Wi-Fi, the product gave clients more control over their smart homes through voice.  

 After receiving a few CES Innovation Honoree Awards in 2021, the networking product provider became a CES 2022 Innovation Awards Honoree again for its AXE11000 Tri-Band Wi-Fi 6E Router, also called the Archer AXE200 Omni. This Wi-Fi 6E router worked on the 6GHz band, ran with a multi-gigabit performance, and had mechanically rotating antennas. The rotating antennas made the AXE200 Omni stand out from all the other products in the CES panel’s list. According to industry experts, the rotating antenna feature enhanced user experience and redefined the purpose of networking devices.  

 The company expanded its business networking product line in June 2022 with the Omada Outdoor Wi-Fi 6 Ceiling Mount Access Point, an outdoor access point made for businesses and home users. It came with a weatherproof IP67 Wi-Fi 6 outdoor access point. Because they’re made for small and medium businesses, Omada products made it easier for many clients to improve their Wi-Fi connections. 

 Remaining a Private Brand, IPO not in Sight

 Despite all its accomplishments and successes in the networking equipment industry, TP-Link never opened its doors to public stock trading or IPO filing.  

 The Networking Provider’s Subsidiary Brands 

 Tapo was a brand TP-Link launched in September 2019. The brand was created to focus on the small intelligent appliances market. Some of its initial products included a mini smart Wi-Fi plug called Tapo P100, a line of home security Wi-Fi cameras, and a line of smart lighting appliances. The brand took notes from TP-Link’s strategy of selling quality products at affordable prices. Despite its potential, it is still somewhat new to the market, so it has limited products.  

 The other TP-Link brand is Deco, a name full of mesh network technology for home users. Its first offer in its line of mesh products was the TP-Link M5 whole home mesh Wi-Fi system, followed by the M9 Plus and Deco P7. The latter was a power-line connected mesh-network system, allowing nodes to communicate through a home’s electrical wiring instead of on wireless transmissions. Like the Tapo brand, Deco brought its technology to the consumer market at good quality and affordable prices.  

 TP-Link Controversies and Product Issues

Although still a young company, TP-Link had its share of headlines around the tech community, mainly connected to their remote hijacking vulnerability, as well as an outdated firmware issue with one of the worlds largest webshops, Amazon.

• Remote Hijacking Risk. A TP-Link scandal occurred in 2019 when thousands of its routers became vulnerable to a bug that allowed remote control. The exploit opened the door to low-skilled cyber attackers because it relied on the default router password, which many users don’t change. The person who discovered the bug, Andrew Mabbit of Fidus Information Security, disclosed the information to the company in October 2017.  The networking brand’s response was to release a patch. Mabbit cautioned the firm in January 2018 when he saw the same bug in another device. It took TP-Link over a year to publish the next patches.  
• Vulnerabilities on Amazon’s Choice Products. In 2021, TP-Link became known for its security risks in some of its top router lines, like the Archer line. Despite becoming a best-selling Amazon product, the TP-Link AC1200 Archer C50 came with an outdated firmware version susceptible to known security vulnerabilities. On top of that, the router had a web interface app with subpar security and weak encryption, potentially affecting millions of users. The company released a new firmware update to fix the issue. Yet, the patch fixed only half the issue. TP-Link later stated that they’d force firmware updates on affected updates and provide relevant notifications to affected owners via the management interface.  

All successful tech companies have their fair share of scandals, including hacking reports, so this is not a surprise. 

The Company During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Like many other companies, TP-Link experienced a short crash at the beginning of the pandemic. However, in Q4 2020, the IDC Quarterly Wireless LAN Tracker listed it as the top provider of WLAN devices worldwide for a decade. In that time, the company had shipped 18 million WLAN products, taking up 17.8% global market share. It also boosted its business by providing various work-from-home and e-learning tech solutions to consumers.  

 TP-Link Today 

Most of the brand’s offered products today are reminders of its hold and roots in the networking sector. For example, the firm manufactures and produces items like Wi-Fi routers, range extenders, mesh systems, and switches for small and medium-sized businesses. Newer product categories include the Omada Software Defined Networking (SDN) platform. It’s a networking ecosystem (wireless access points, routers, and switches) controlled by the Omada software.  

 The other side of the coin for TP-Link’s products is all about the Smart Home. These products don’t only include smart cameras and plugs but also smart bulbs, light strips, and light switches. The company’s Smart Home category includes the Tapo and Kasa brands.  

Founded in 1983, Belkin International is a renowned world leader in manufacturing accessories and gadgets that enhance consumers’ quality of living. The brand offers various consumer gadgets and enterprise contexts, from power solutions to home automation.

Originating from Southern California, the company produces devices that support business and home technology across over 50 countries worldwide. To further widen its global reach, Belkin International joined Foxconn Interconnect Technology (FIT) in 2018. Today, it continues its commitment to bettering lives through technology and sustainable materials.

Back to the Beginning: Belkin’s Origin Story

Steve Bellow and Chet Pipkin co-founded Belkin Components in the Pipkin’s garage in Hawthorne, California, back in 1983. As their brainchild, “Belkin” came from its founders’ combined names. Their early offerings include cables, LAN hardware, and surge protectors. With the first year’s sales reaching an impressive record of $178,000, the brand was on its way to success.

By 1996, the company had extended to house 280 workers and generate over 3,000 products. It also relocated to more extensive facilities in Compton, California, and established sales offices in Georgia, Atlanta, and the United Kingdom. Belkin enjoyed steady growth, with its annual sales eventually increasing by 70% the following year to over $90 million.

Humble Beginnings: What Propelled Belkins to Success

Belkin veered away from the typical venture capital (VC) practices that fueled unusual growth and rapid expansions common among businesses in Silicon Valley. This decision enabled the brand to avoid unsustainable valuations and sabotages that often plague other groups within the region. It favored gradual and stable evolution. This balance became its key to global reach and progress.

Pipkin resisted taking on any outside finance for the company until 2002. Summit Partners, a private equity firm, purchased a minority investment in Belkin. This stake was reclaimed by Pipkin before FIT bought the organization in 2018. As he was the only significant shareholder during the sale, he stands out among entrepreneurs who gave large portions of their businesses to VCs.

One of Belkin’s most significant revenue sources is the sale of cables, adapters, chargers, and other iPhone accessories. While Apple’s decision to remove USB ports and headphone jacks from its Macs and iPhones has helped spur the proliferation of dongles, Pipkin thinks the institution’s future resides in the “internet of things” or IoT.

Belkin Fake Product Review Controversy

In 2009, Belkin struggled through a stumbling block with its fake product review controversy. The brand allegedly paid users to post agreeable reviews about its products through one of its employees. “Mike Baynard” hired commenters through a site called Mechanical Turk. Arlen Parsa posted this issue on his political blog, The Daily Background, and garnered the attention of many.

Then Belkin President, Mark Reynoso, issued an apology regarding the matter. He highlighted the company’s corporate ethics and integrity. He then admitted that an employee made the mistake, but insisted their brand has nothing to do with it. At the end of his letter, he shared that they removed all the paid good reviews and promised that the incident won’t be repeated.

The Launch of WeMo and Phyn: Belkin’s Trademark

Belkin introduced its WeMo line of smart plugs and light switches in 2012. These devices may be operated using a smartphone or a virtual assistant like Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa. Additionally, it launched a water monitoring device known as Phyn, which notifies household owners of usage and leaks. In the fiscal year ending in September, these segments are to contribute to a $1 billion increase in the organization’s total sales.

Founder Pipkin anticipated the significant increase in the number of devices, sensors, and peripherals needed to connect to the internet in the coming years. Thus, he decided the business needed a partner with experience producing hardware on a large scale.

Belkin purchased Linksys in 2013 in preparation for this demand. After the transaction, Belkin International was created to house the two brands.

Reaching New Heights: Foxconn’s Belkin Acquisition

By September 2018, Belkin International, Inc. was presented with the opportunity to merge with Foxconn Interconnect Technology (FIT), a Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd division, for $866 million, and they accepted it without questions.

Pipkin joined the FIT management group, leading Belkin as CEO. At the time of the acquisition, the company’s headquarter was in Playa Vista, California. It was also operating in more than 50 countries and with over 1,400 workers.

The agreement’s goals were as follows:

• To further expand FIT’s influence over the upscale accessories and smart home market by leveraging Belkin’s capabilities and consumer products channel.
• To diversify Belkin’s brands and product portfolio.
• To fund research, development, and engineering to increase the two group’s footprint in the US and other important regions worldwide.

Overcoming Barriers and Challenges: The 2019 Wemo Case

Cementing its place in the home electronics market, Belkin released Wemo — a line of innovative products that let users control home systems such as power, electronics, water, and WiFi through their smart gadgets. This feat was made possible through the brand’s IoT architecture.

More than four million Wemo devices were sold in 2019. However, with its outdated IoT system, Belkin had trouble managing millions of devices and the overwhelming data that came with it.

Before releasing new Wemo products, the company researched several potential choices for a new IoT architecture in advance. It conducted thorough tests comparing different systems that would revamp its IoT.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) supporting its IoT systems became Belkin’s solution. It’s a cloud service that connects devices with applications and other tools. Along with an open-source, real-time system called FreeRTOS, the brand successfully handled its issues and repaired its processes. This new update even offered a significant increase to its scalability.

The AWT IoT core and FreeRTOS reduced the company’s development time, decreased its costs on Traversal Using Relay around NAT (TURN) servers, and let the business allot more resources to focus on customers’ needs. These advantages proved critical in Belkin’s triumph in the following periods.

Belkin vs. The Pandemic

During the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Belkin International attempted to produce low-cost ventilators in Providence, Rhode Island. In contrast to more feature-rich devices that cost at least $30,000, these machines are less than $200. However, they’re only for less severe COVID cases.

The FlexVent was pitched and designed by Belkin in coordination with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Grainger College of Engineering. Although the Food and Drug Administration has not yet reviewed or approved an Emergency Use Authorization application, the device is now under production.

The FlexVent was created and intended to be used as a disposable emergency ventilator that can provide constant-flow, pressure-cycled ventilation for patients suffering respiratory distress.

In an interview with USA Today, Pipkin recognized the pandemic as “one of the most urgent humanitarian crises we have experienced in our lifetimes.” He felt that it’s everyone’s obligation, especially their organization, to show care and compassion for those in need by providing accessible services such as ventilators.

Moving Forward and Beyond: Belkin’s Current Achievements and Trajectory

The company has been powering through the ever-present challenges and competition in the technology industry and marketplace. Through its competent workforce and consistent innovations, Belkin has created a reputable name for itself and remains relevant today.

Advancements in Household Dining and Audio

The new Wemo Smart Dimmer with Thread enables customers to dim their lights from anywhere using the Home app, Wemo Stage, or by calling out to Siri. This latest addition is approved and made with the newest technologies to provide a faster and more dependable connection.

For even greater flexibility, users can configure routines in the Home app. They can also turn on lights when motion is detected by connecting the Smart Dimmer to other HomeKit gadgets.

Meanwhile, the SOUNDFORMTM True Wireless Earbuds are the newest addition to Belkin’s lineup of audio devices in the UAE. With deep sound and a secure in-ear fit, the SOUNDFORM True Wireless Earbuds offer the convenience of proper wireless music connectivity.

The Company Loved by Customers and Employees Alike

Aside from delivering world-class products and humanitarian projects, Belkin was also recognized for its commitment to taking care of its employees. The Los Angeles Business Journal and Workforce Research Group hailed Belkin International as among the Best Places to Work in 2022 through its 16th annual awards-giving body. This event honored the top 100 local employers based in Los Angeles.

Belkin’s Continued and Wider Partnerships

Aside from collaborating with Apple, Belkin knew it needed to broaden its partnerships further. Recently, the group partnered with Wi-Charge, an industry leader in wireless, long-range power solutions. The revolutionary Wi-Charge technology has already been implemented in many commercial settings, helping to do away with the inconvenience of wires and batteries. The agreement with Belkin is a step up in Wi-Change’s dedication to its consumer market, including smart homes.

Since its foundation in 1987 as a telecommunications company, Huawei has grown into one of the largest smartphone brands globally. Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. operates as a private company in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. The Chines firm ranked 88th in Forbes’ Most Valuable Brands 2018, holding a 7.3-billion USD brand value.

While it’s most popular as a consumer electronics manufacturer, it also provides telecommunications manufacturing, operational and consulting services, and more. Its products include tablet computers, smart TVs, and mobile networks. Today, Huawei offers its products and services to over 170 countries worldwide.

Ren Zhengfei, the Man Behind Huawei

As a son of school teachers from a mountain town in the Guizhou Province, Ren Zhengfei studied civil engineering and architecture. A few years after he graduated and landed a job in his field, he joined the military as a Technician, Engineer, and later a Deputy Director. While he was a soldier in the Engineering Corps, Ren Zhengfei helped create the Liao Yang Chemical Fiber Factory.

This achievement was one of his many outstanding performances that brought him to the 1978 National Science Conference and the 1982 National Congress of the Communist Party of China. In 1983, the Chinese government disbanded the Engineering Corps, forcing Ren Zhengfei to retire. Shortly afterward, he landed a job in a logistics service base of the Shenzhen South Sea Oil Corporation.

Feeling unfulfilled in that job, Ren Zhengfei left it and established a telecommunications company in 1987 to fill a gap in the country’s undersized telecommunications market. Many other businessmen saw the same deficiency in the market, leading to the formation of hundreds of other networking companies.

It kept Ren Zhengfei from securing any bank loan to use as capital for his firm. With financial help from five other colleagues, he created Huawei with a capital that only reached CNY 21,000 (or close to 5,000 USD). The company sprang up in Shenzhen, away from much bigger cities with fierce competition, like Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Beijing.

Products that Helped Huawei Grow

In its early days, Huawei operated as a sales agent for Private Branch Exchange (PBX) systems. When the PBX business was sold off, Ren Zhengfei led the firm into researching and developing PBX products from scratch. Within a few years, Huawei released several switchboards for hotels and small businesses, throwing the company into the telecom equipment industry. In 1992, the brand launched a rural digital switching solution. After three years, it generated 1.5 billion CNY from its clients in the rural Chinese markets.

Entry into the Metropolitan Scene

Huawei’s R&D solutions led to its launching of several wireless GSM-based solutions in 1997. A year later, it expanded its networking businesses, reaching into the cities. This growth led the firm overseas to Bangalore, India, establishing an R&D center. The facility earned a CMM level-4 accreditation in 2001 and a CMM level-5 accreditation in 2003. These certifications prove that the business had a well-managed and well-defined process for development, ongoing quality improvements, and client focus.

The firm erected more overseas R&D centers in Sweden and the US in the following years. The brand also worked with other industry giants. In 2003, Huawei and 3Com launched a joint venture for developing enterprise data networking solutions. With the former’s technology and engineers and the latter’s funding, the collaboration produced Ethernet switches and IP routers for enterprises.

Siemens also worked with the brand in 2004, leading to the development and launch of TD-SCDMA technology. The Time Division-Synchronous Code Division Multiple Access or TD-SCDMA is a 3G mobile network standard for Chinese telecommunications. Huawei also signed a contract with Dutch operator Telfort in the same year, leading to its first contract in Europe valued beyond 25 million USD.

Now mainly a telecommunications brand, the company’s domestic and overseas operations, contracts, joint ventures, and overall success continued to rise. By 2008, it ranked third on BusinessWeek’s list of the World’s Most Influential Companies after Apple and Google. It was also the world’s top international patent seeker at that time, with 1737 applications published within the same year alone.

Its unceasing drive to expand its reach, R&D, and quality brought it many more achievements in the following years.

Huawei’s Acquisitions Throughout the Years

As the company continued to grow, it also began acquiring other brands in the IT and tech hardware industries. One notable acquisition occurred in 2014 when the tech giant bought Neul, a UK developer of wireless network technology, for 25 million USD. Neul is also a leading R&D center for end-to-end solutions, which will boost Huawei’s IoT offerings.

Toga Networks is an Israeli IT company and a long-time research partner of Huawei. In 2016, a deal worth 150 million USD arose between the two firms. The former became a subsidiary focused on providing advanced tech research and high-level designs for the IT and telecom markets.

In 2019, the telecom giant purchased Vocord, a Moscow-based company specializing in facial recognition tech. Its other fortes are video surveillance and analysis, license plate recognition, audio recording, and video enhancement and authentication. Vocord’s technology bolstered the Chinese giant’s offerings in the same fields. CEO Ren Zhengfei has also admired Russian scientists’ creativity and diligence for a long while, and this was his chance to recruit and work with them.

Scandals and Controversies

Issues Concerning the ties to the Chinese Communist Government was one of the largest scandals in the companies history, although Huawei claimed that it had no special relationship with the country’s Communist government. Yet, many have observed how the Chinese Communist government has acted more leniently with Huawei than with other companies in the same boat.

The Chinese government has also acted protectively in Huawei’s favor. For example, in mid-2018, Australia excluded Huawei and ZTE from its 5G network. Two years later, China imposed tariffs on Australian imports.

Another example is when the company’s CFO, Meng Wanzhou, was detained in Canada for fraud charges in late 2018. In response, China arrested Canadian nationals Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor and charged them with espionage endangering China’s national security. It led to a game of “hostage diplomacy.” There isn’t any conclusion to these ongoing geopolitical issues yet.

Espionage Allegations and the Huawei Ban

In 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping publicized a new national intelligence law and the 2014 Counter-Espionage Law. Both laws compelled Chinese businesses to work with the country’s intelligence and security agencies when requested. As a Chinese brand, Huawei has to cooperate with the state, which risks the safety and privacy of its clients in China and overseas.

Researchers from the Henry Jackson Society also found that many of the firm’s employees were agents for China’s Ministry of State Security, worked on projects with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), or had been in a military unit connected to a cyberattack on US corporations. These and many more allegations put the brand in a bad light. In 2020, The Federal Communications Commission declared Huawei products as national security threats.

These activities and events led to the Huawei ban. Suddenly, the brand couldn’t work with Google, Intel, Qualcomm, and many other companies. So far, there is no conclusion to this issue yet.

Huawei During the Pandemic

Like many companies hit during the pandemic, the handset company’s sales dropped in Q1 of 2020 by 16.5%. Despite this initial downturn, the firm bounced back with new products for the market and a system that allowed their employees to continue working. The brand developed technology that allowed for improved telemedicine. Some aspects included 5G+ remote video counseling, AI-assisted diagnosis, internet hospitals, and AI-assisted drug screening.

Huawei also set up canteens to serve its employees throughout the pandemic. It adopted remote working conditions, scientific prevention practices, and control measures to ensure its employees’ safety and health. In 2021, it had over 195,000 employees and was the 8th on the World’s Best Employers list and the highest-ranked Chinese corporation.

Huawei Today

The most popular consumer offerings from Huawei include its smartphones, tablets, PCs, and laptops. It also sells smart TVs, audio accessories, and wearables. The telecom corporation develops apps like EMUI, HiSuite, and Audio Assistant for its smart devices, too. On the enterprise side, Huawei’s offerings cover the desktop, laptop, tablet, and printer markets.

As a global provider of information and communications technology, the brand also manufactures and designs connectivity tools. These include mesh systems, mobile routers, and Wi-Fi routers. Other products include consultancy and managed services, cloud computing, and automation.