is a Japanese electronics company and founded by Junji Hada in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, Japan in 1986. The company introduced an oval mouse in 1988 that became a global standard design. They manufacture office and other furniture for using with electronics, computer peripherals, gaming peripherals, computer memory and

USB flash drives A USB flash drive (also called a thumb drive) is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated USB interface. It is typically removable, rewritable and much smaller than an optical disc. Most weigh less than . Since first ...

, keyboards, and many other related devices. The company and its subsidiaries have offices worldwide, including in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and China. Elecom has had the top marketshare in Japan for mobile phone audio accessories, mobile phone battery chargers, smartphone cases, smartphone screen protectors, and tablet accessories since 2017.

History

Elecom was founded in May 1986 in

Osaka, Japan is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2.7 ...

by . The company opened a facility in Miyakojima-ku and manufactured office furniture such as computer desks. In November of the same year, they opened an office in

Itabashi is a special ward located in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. In English, it calls itself Itabashi City. Itabashi has sister-city relations with Burlington, Ontario, in Canada; Shijingshan District of Beijing in the People's Republic of China; and ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. The following November, offices were opened in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most po ...

and

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since anc ...

. They introduced an oval mouse in 1988, different than the common rectangular mouse that was popular at that time, and the oval mouse became the global standard. A Tokyo distribution center was opened in December 1988. Their first ten key keyboard was launched in September 1989. The following September, an office was opened in

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous cit ...

, and their Sendai office was expanded to include a distribution center in March 1991. was spun-off in July 1991, with offices in Minamikawachi. Elecom Computer Products was established in the United States in September 1992.

Seiko Epson Seiko Epson Corporation, or simply known as Epson, is a Japanese multinational electronics company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of computer printers and information- and imaging-related equipment. Headquartered in Suwa, Nagano ...

sued Elecom and manufacturer Ester Industries in September 2000, claiming that Elecom's manufacturing and sales of ink cartridges compatible with Epson printers infringed on their patent. The suit was dismissed in March 2002 when the Japan Patent Office withdrew Seiko Epson's patent, stating it did not meet the requirement for originality. Elecom won the top spot in the categories for mobile phone audio accessory, mobile phone battery charger, smartphone case, smartphone screen protector, and tablet accessory every year from 2017 to 2020 in the annual BCN Awards (given out by the POS marketing information company BCN since 2000). Due to COVID-19, demand for

webcam A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in videotelephony, livestreaming and social media, and security. Webcams can be built-in computer hardware or peripheral ...

s and

microphones A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public ...

tripled or quadrupled due to the increase in people working from home. At the same time, due to the increase in popularity of notebook computers, the demand for its computer stands has sharply decreased, causing them to quickly change the company's product focus. A charity golf tournament was hosted by Elecom at the Yomiuri Country Club in on June 17, 2020 to raise money for healthcare workers due to the impact of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

. It was the first professional golf tournament since the spread of the virus. In June 2020,

Daiwa Securities is a Japanese investment bank that is the second largest securities brokerage after Nomura Securities. Major subsidiaries include ''Daiwa Securities'', which offers retail services such as online trading to individual investors and investment ...

reported they had reduced their holdings in Elecom from 5.20 percent to 3.45 percent.

Products

The company is best known for their modern design, especially with their mice. Elecom controls a large percent of the market share in Japan in various product categories, including #1 in computer mice, keyboards, and speakers in 2010. Its products have won the Good Design Award 106 times between 1993 and 2019. The company produces electronics as an

OEM An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...

that are shipped to many outside and larger companies. In 2020 in Japan, they controlled 57.2 percent of the tablet accessory market, 49.5 percent of the mobile phone audio accessory market, 31.2 percent of the smartphone case market, 38.3 percent of the smartphone screen protector market, and 33.3 percent of the mobile phone battery charger market. They manufacture many different products: * AV accessories:

computer speakers Computer speakers, or multimedia speakers, are speakers sold for use with computers, although usually capable of other audio uses, e.g. for an MP3 player. Most such speakers have an internal amplifier and consequently require a power source, whic ...

, headphones,

loudspeaker A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or speaker driver) is an electroacoustic transducer that converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. A ''speaker system'', also often simply referred to as a "speaker" or ...

s, and television and stereo equipment stands. *Carrying cases for laptops, tablets, and other electronic devices *Computer accessories and peripherals: Ethernet cables (including patch cables),

gamepad A gamepad is a type of video game controller held in two hands, where the fingers (especially thumbs) are used to provide input. They are typically the main input device for video game consoles. Features Gamepads generally feature a set o ...

hard disks A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with magneti ...

(including

solid-state drive A solid-state drive (SSD) is a solid-state storage device that uses integrated circuit assemblies to store data persistently, typically using flash memory, and functioning as secondary storage in the hierarchy of computer storage. It is a ...

s), keyboards, LCD filters,

memory Memory is the faculty of the mind by which data or information is encoded, stored, and retrieved when needed. It is the retention of information over time for the purpose of influencing future action. If past events could not be remembered ...

memory card reader A memory card reader is a device for accessing the data on a memory card such as a CompactFlash (CF), Secure Digital (SD) or MultiMediaCard (MMC). Most card readers also offer write capability, and together with the card, this can function as ...

s, mice (including

optical Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultravio ...

and

trackball A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down ball mouse with an exposed protruding ball. Users roll the ball to position the o ...

s),

mousepad A mousepad is a surface for placing and moving a computer mouse. A mousepad enhances the usability of the mouse compared to using a mouse directly on a table by providing a surface to allow it to measure movement accurately and without jitter. So ...

s, printer ink and toner (including inkjet refill kits and toner refills),

SD card Secure Digital, officially abbreviated as SD, is a proprietary non-volatile flash memory card format developed by the SD Association (SDA) for use in portable devices. The standard was introduced in August 1999 by joint efforts between SanDis ...

s, and

USB Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...

devices and accessories (including cables,

flash drives A flash drive is a portable computer drive that uses flash memory. Flash drives are the larger memory modules consisting of a number of flash chips. A flash chip is used to read the contents of a single cell, but it can write entire block of cell ...

, and hubs) * Mobile phone accessories (including cases) *Office furniture, including computer desks and stands,

office chair An office chair, or desk chair, is a type of chair that is designed for use at a desk in an office. It is usually a swivel chair, with a set of wheels for mobility and adjustable height. Modern office chairs typically use a single, distinctive l ...

s, and printer and accessory stands

Subsidiaries

Elecom has subsidiaries in Japan and around the world: * D-Clue Technologies * DX Antenna (founded in August 1953, bought from

Funai is a Japanese consumer electronics company headquartered in Daitō, Osaka. Apart from producing its own branded electronic products, it is also an OEM providing assembled televisions and video players/recorders to major corporations such as S ...

in 2017) **DX Antenna Marketing **DX Antenna Philippines *Elecom Shanghai (新宜丽客(上海)商贸有限公司) *Elecom Hong Kong **Elecom Sales Hong Kong *Elecom Korea *Elecom Singapore *Elecom Support & Service *Elecom Healthcare * Hagiwara Solutions (founded in November 1971 as "Hagiwara Sys-Com", went bankrupt in 2011, absorbed as a subsidiary into Elecom) * Logitec (founded in June 1982, purchased by Elecom in December 2004 via stock buyout) **Logitec INA Solutions

Notes

References

External links