History of Sony of Canada Ltd.
Sony of Canada Ltd. evolved from General Distributors (Gendis) founded in 1954. In collaboration with the founders of Sony Corporation, Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka, Albert Cohen and his four brothers negotiated early distribution of Sony's first transistor radio, TR55 in 1955. The Cohens also negotiated for Eaton's company to be the first company to retail Sony products outside of Japan. Known originally as Gendis Sony, Sony of Canada Ltd. was officially founded in 1968.
Albert Cohen and Akio Morita
Originally headquartered in Winnipeg, Sony of Canada brought Walkman portable music players, Trinitron Televisions and Handycam Camcorders to Canadians. In addition to consumer products, Sony of Canada has also pioneered and powered the growth of Broadcast media. Sony's Betacam technology transformed the world of Electronic News Gathering. Key broadcast successes included the implementation of Sony's digital routing system at the CBC Toronto Broadcasting Centre and the use of the Digital Betacam SX as the primary tool to record and broadcast the 1996 Olympics. Sony of Canada Ltd. milestones
1939
General Distributors (Gendis) founded in Calgary
1955
General Distributors (Tokyo) Ltd is founded
1956
Canadian Albert Cohen brings Sony's transistor radios to Canada.
T. Eaton Co. is first retailer outside Japan to buy a Sony product.
1968
Sony of Canada Ltd. is established
1970
Sony of Canada Ltd. opens The Sony Store, the first Sony retail store in the world
1970
Trinitron colour television introduced
1975
General Distributors (Gendis) assumed 51 percent ownership of Sony of Canada Ltd
1976
Sony wins an Emmy award for its development of the Trinicon single-tube camera, electronic editing units and the U-matic, the world's first videocassette system
1979
Launch of the "Walkman", the world's first personal headphone stereo
1982
World's first CD player, the CDP-101 is introduced
1983
Sony of Canada receives an international marketing award for establishing Betacam as the de facto standard for ENG/EFP.
1984
Discman Sony's portable CD player is launched
1985
Sony unveils first XBR TV models
1995
Sony of Canada Ltd. becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation
The world's first consumer use digital video camcorder, the "Digital Handycam" is launched
1996
Sony's Cyber-shot Digital Camera is introduced
1997
Sony of Canada and Alliance Broadcasting share Gemini award for development of multi-channel server system.
Launch of VAIO Computers
Technical Emmy for its foresight in implementing the Sony Digital Routing System at the CBC.
2004
Sony of Canada Ltd. becomes the exclusive and official supplier of consumer electronics products to Make-A-Wish of Canada
Launch of the world's first consumer use digital HD video camcorder recorder compliant to HDV standard 1080i.
2005
Sony of Canada Ltd. launches MBNA Sony Master Card
Sony of Canada Ltd. launches the new BRAVIA line of LCD HDTV compatible flat screen televisions
2006
Sony of Canada Ltd. launches its introductory Blu-ray Disc products including a home disc player, VAIO computers, an internal computer drive and recordable/rewriteable media
Sony of Canada Ltd. launches first a (alpha) Digital SLR Camera offering
2007
Sony's 8-year global FIFA partnership commences
Sony of Canada Ltd. announces sponsorship deal with The Hummingbird Centre in downtown Toronto, now called The Sony Centre for the Performing Arts
2008
Sony of Canada Ltd. re-brands The Sony Store(s) to Sony Style
Sony of Canada Ltd. launches the world's first Organic LED television in Canada
Sony of Canada Ltd. launches the Reader Digital Book, the first electronic reading device in Canada
2009
Sony of Canada Ltd. announces the Bravia VE5 HDTV, its most energy efficient LCD HDTV to date
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