Overview, History and Current Structure of SamsungOver the past 70 years, Samsung Group has grown its business through dedication and a business philosophy based on strong work ethic. Over the years, Samsung has diversified its activities with participations in the chemical industry, the hotel industry, health care, high finance, clothing, among others. This includes an extensive network of affiliated companies with over sixty subsidiary groups. Samsung even has the distinction of owning Korea's first amusement park. Byung-chull Lee was born in 1910, and at the age of 28, in 1938, he founded what is today known as Samsung Group. At that time, the business was small and primarily sold food and groceries. At the end of the Korean War, he acquired a small sugar refinery and woolen mill in the early 1950s. In an effort to expand and diversify the company, Lee established Samsung Electronics in 1969. However, in Due to a poor Korean economy, little capital investment, and poor quality electronics, the growth of Samsung electronics has been slow. In order to be competitive, at that time Samsung largely manufactured products from foreign parts. Initially, there was a huge gap between the quality of Samsung products and that of their Japanese competitors. For example, while Japanese manufacturers sold color TVs, Samsung still made black and white TVs. Over time, however, Samsung Electronics was able to adapt foreign technology and significantly expand its product offerings. They eventually branched out into home appliances, kitchen electronics, as well as televisions and VCRs. However, all this growth in the early days of Samsung Electronics pales in comparison to the exponential growth seen after mid-paper. ......fr in a niche market. These phones have worked well because some of them strike a chord with consumers even though it is not easy to predict market trends. Additionally, in the digital age, the life cycle of electronic goods is getting shorter and shorter. For this reason, Samsung has decided to develop many different and new mobile phones every year in an attempt to follow the trend as quickly as possible. Over the past 10 years, Samsung has shown tremendous growth as a company. Before the turn of the millennium, electronics maker Sony had a market capitalization twice that of Samsung, but three years later, Samsung overtook the former largest electronics maker in the world and the gap between two companies continue to grow. According to Samsung's 2013 shareholders' meeting, net profit increased by 13.5% compared to 2012 and the future remains bright for Samsung..