Ever notice how many concert halls have Yamaha pianos?
It’s sort of a recurring thought for me, always at a time when it’s not polite to whip out my phone and find out more.
On Sunday at my daughters’ piano recital, I found myself wondering: How did a company become dominant in both musical instruments and… motorcycles?
Or are they two different companies with the same name?
(After all, my girls learn piano using the Suzuki method. No relation.)
I looked into it today and the story is fascinating. Yamaha’s founder, Torakusu Yamaha, started by repairing a broken reed organ in 1887.
The company he built became Japan’s first piano manufacturer.
The motorcycles? That came later, when the company used its expertise in metallurgy and musical instrument manufacturing to create motorcycle parts after World War II.
Today, Yamaha Corporation (music) and Yamaha Motor Company (vehicles) are separate entities, but DO share that common origin story.
It’s not the only product divergence story that might surprise you:
Nokia started as a paper mill in 1865, then made rubber boots and cables before becoming the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer. (Today they mostly make network infrastructure.)
Samsung began in 1938 trading noodles and other groceries. They ventured into insurance, textiles, and securities before finding their groove in electronics. They now make almost one in four smartphones.
Weird that those two could be flogging ramen noodles and galoshes instead of fighting cellphone wars!
Also weird: Nintendo sold playing cards for 80 years before venturing into video games.
For product makers, these pivots reveal something fascinating: core competencies often transfer in unexpected ways.
Yamaha’s understanding of precision manufacturing translated from piano strings to motorcycle parts.
Nokia’s expertise in cables laid groundwork for telecommunications.
Samsung’s trading relationships helped them enter new markets.
What looks like a radical departure might actually be a natural evolution.
What’s your company’s hidden superpower? Are you stuck doing something else?
Which of your core competencies could open surprising new doors?
Laurier
P.S. Know any other surprising brand evolution (or revolution) stories? Hit reply – I’d love to hear them.