Today we have top 10 most expensive companies in the world.
Today, the logo of the company is sure to be recognized by many people, because Apple Corporation has become truly one of the most successful companies with a market value of more than $720.12 billion.
The company was founded on April 1, 1976 by Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne, and Steve Jobs. Initially, the trinity was engaged in assembling home computers and releasing their own PC models, but the greatest success came precisely in the last years of the company, when Apple introduced its mobile product lines to the world - iPhone smartphones and iPad tablets.
To date, the range of the company's products is very wide - smart watches, computers and laptops, tablets and smartphones, and more. But the main feature of the popularity of "apple" gadgets was the high quality, stylish design and the smartest marketing program of Steve Jobs.
Today the company includes thousands of representative offices, company stores and service centers around the world, the staff is about 132 thousand employees.
The headquarters is located in the USA, in the city of Cupertino, California.
$482.36 billion
Industry: Insurance, finance, railway transport, public utilities, production of food and non-food products.
The company is known for its permanent owner, American investor and entrepreneur Warren Buffett. The headquarters is located in Omaha, Nebraska, USA.
The cost of one share of this company is $293,750, which makes it the most expensive share in the world.
Affiliated companies:
- GEICO (auto insurance);
- General Re (reinsurance);
- Berkshire Hathaway Primary Group (insurance);
- Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group (insurance and reinsurance);
- BNSF - (railway transport);
- Berkshire Hathaway Energy (electricity and gas supply);
- McLane Company (wholesale).
In 2015, the number of participants annual meeting shareholders exceeded 40 thousand people.
For this reason, the company's shareholders' meeting was jokingly nicknamed "Woodstock for the capitalists."
$413.25 billion
Industry: Internet.
Facebook was developed by Mark Zuckerberg in February 2004. Today, the Facebook social network is visited by over 1.86 billion people daily. For one Internet project, with a market value of 413.25 billion dollars, this is simply an astronomical indicator of popularity and demand.
Today, Facebook generates more than 8 billion in net profit per year through advertising. In addition, facebook is the leader among this list in terms of profitability, since it has increased net profit by 54%.
The headquarters is located in Menlo Park, California.
$400.90 billion
Industry: Conglomerate.
Products: Social networks, instant messaging, media mass media, web portals, etc.
Tencent is a venture capital company, conglomerate, investment holding, and one of the largest companies in the gaming industry.
This Chinese multinational investment holding was founded in 1998. Today it occupies the 7th position in the ranking of the most expensive companies.
Its many services include social networks, mobile games, music, web portals, payment systems, e-commerce, internet services, smartphones and online multiplayer games, which are among the largest and most successful in the world in their respective categories.
Tencent Seafront Towers (also known as Tencent Binhai Mansion) is headquartered in Nanshan District, Shenzhen.
$392.25 billion
Industry: Internet.
Products: E-commerce, online auction hosting, online money transfers, mobile commerce.
Industry: Banking.
JPMorgan Chase is the largest commercial bank in the US and the world's 6th largest in terms of assets.
The nucleus for the formation of JPMorgan Chase was Chemical Bank, from which he inherited the headquarters and the history of stock prices.
Brand J.P. Morgan, historically known as Morgan, provides investment banking, asset management, private banking, and wealth management.
Location: USA, New York, Manhattan, 270 Park Avenue.
Market capitalization as a method of assessing the value of a company
Market capitalization, along with annual income and the sum of all assets, is one of the methods for assessing the investment attractiveness of a company.
Using market capitalization to represent the size of a company is important because the size of a company is a major factor in determining the various characteristics that investors are interested in, including risk.
Being the product of the number of shares and their value, market capitalization is not the price at which the owner will necessarily sell his company.
Despite the fact that companies are overvalued by the market or, on the contrary, undervalued, in order to get the real value of a company, it is necessary to consider its activities from a fundamental point of view.
1 Apple
Year of foundation: 1976
Industry: IT, electronics
Apple Inc. was created by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. More than once in history, it was on the verge of collapse, but Jobs, who took the failures of the company to heart, did everything for her success. To date, Apple Inc. acquired more than 30 companies.
Brand value:$87.1 billion
Cost dynamics:+129% for 2012
The Apple brand has long been a sign of belonging to the cream of society: it is considered very prestigious to have an image of a bitten apple on a smartphone or computer, and even the heroes of modern films, as if by chance, demonstrate the company's new products on the screens.
It is Apple Inc. the first to mass-produce personal computers and use a graphical user interface. The company's core business was established in 1984 with the creation of the 32-bit Macintosh. iPod audio player, iPhone touch smartphone, iPad tablet computer are the most famous products of the company. The revolutionary design of devices gained popularity among consumers, and a competent PR campaign ensured market leadership electronic engineering and information technologies. For February, 2012 capitalization of Apple Inc. exceeds the total value of its competitors - Google and Microsoft.
2.Microsoft
Year of foundation: 1975
Industry: development software
The company, led by two student friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen, began work by creating a Basic language interpreter for the Altair 8800 personal computer. In 1983, Allen left the gradually gaining momentum of Microsoft Corporation. Steve
Brand value:$54.7 billion
Cost dynamics:-2% for 2012
It is no coincidence that the Microsoft brand has taken the top spot in the consumer perception rankings. Respondents note the positive impact of the company on their lives and the fact that its services meet individual needs. Microsoft Corporation is a leader in software production: it has developed the Windows family of operating systems, Microsoft Office document programs, as well as the notorious Xbox, a game console that has become a serious competitor to the Sony PlayStation 2. The company's products are sold in more than 80 countries around the world, and programs are translated into more than 45 languages.
In recent years, the corporation has been hit by the EU antitrust commission, and Microsoft Corporation has repeatedly paid large fines. However, the company is still the most popular and respected among consumers.
3. Coca Cola
Year of foundation: 1886
Industry: production of soft drinks
The author of Coca-Cola is pharmacist John Stith Pemberton from Atlanta, and his accountant Frank Robinson came up with the name. At first, the novelty was used as a cure for "any nervous disorder" and was sold at the Jacobs drugstore for five cents a glass.
Brand value:$50.2 billion
Cost dynamics:+8% for 2012
Few people know that the United States and the whole world owe the modern image of Santa Claus - a plump old man in red clothes with a white trim - to Coca-Cola. If earlier at Christmas an elf in green stockings came to the Catholics, now thanks to the efforts marketing department The Coca-Cola Company for more than 80 years, their brand has been firmly associated in the minds of people with the main holiday of the year.
Coca-Cola is sold in more than 200 countries around the world. Despite the fact that in the United States itself, demand for the drink has declined over the past seven years, it still the most popular in its segment. In 2011 alone, The Coca-Cola Company sold 26.7 million cases of soda.
More than once, Coca-Cola has been severely criticized for its composition and effect on the human body, but the drink is still very much loved by consumers. The main thing is to observe the measure.
Year of foundation: 1889
Industry: IT
IBM founder Herman Hollerith started out by building an electric tabulator. Second world war the company produced small arms, and in the 1950s the SAGE computerized missile defense system was created.
Brand value:$48.5 billion
Cost dynamics:+8% for 2012
“The Blue Giant” is the informal name for IBM, and it lives up to that name. She owns the creation of the first American Mark I computer, the first Saber air ticket reservation system, the development of dynamic RAM and floppy disks, as well as the mass production of personal computers IBM PC, whose architecture became the standard for the industry and contributed to the advent of the computer revolution.
In the 1990s, IBM found it rather difficult to compete with other companies, but extensive consulting activities improved its business and now generates more than half of the company's income.
IBM owns a huge research base and for 20 years has been breaking records in the number of patents for inventions: in 2011 their number was 6180. Also, its employees have received five Nobel Prizes.
5. Google
Year of foundation: 1997
Industry: Internet
The Google search engine began as a research project of Stanford University students Larry Page and Sergey Brin. The name of the company comes from a corruption of the word googol, meaning "ten to the hundredth".
Brand value:$37.6 billion
Cost dynamics:+26% for 2012
"Google" - this neologism, which means searching for information on the Internet using Google, is so firmly entrenched in modern slang that users often use it in relation to other systems. However, the company itself is strongly opposed to such treatment of their brand and in 2006 demanded “use words derived from Google only when we are talking about Google Inc. or its services.
Under the Google brand, with the help of the most advanced technologies, a world has been created in which, once in, any Internet user can easily navigate and find everything they need: here is a search engine, and e-mail, and the popular YouTube video hosting, and blogs, and social network, and much more. The company also developed a browser Google Chrome leading in terms of the number of users.
6.Intel
Year of foundation: 1965
Industry: semiconductors
The company was founded by two talented inventors - Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore. Soon they were joined by Andrew Grove, who later managed to lead the Intel Corporation out of the crisis - a textbook example often cited in business schools.
Brand value:$32.3 billion
Cost dynamics:+12% for 2012
It is the most “masculine” brand: despite the fact that Intel took 6th place in the consumer perception rating, it was in the top line in a survey among men. The vast majority of personal computers run on microprocessors of the x86 family ( trademark Pentium) created by Intel Corporation. It produces a wide range electronic devices and PC components, chipsets and more.
The revolutionary developments of the company have influenced today's world, radically changing it. In fact, such giants of the information technology industry as Apple and Microsoft could not exist without Intel Corporation, because it created the heart of modern computers - the microprocessor. Almost from the very foundation, the company has become a leader in its field, and competitors are simply lost against its background.
7. McDonald's
Year of foundation: 1940
Industry: catering
The founders of the company are two brothers - Richard and Maurice McDonald. However, in 1954, Ray Kroc acquired the right to franchise McDonald's from them. Six years later, he became the full owner of the company and developed its activities around the world.
Brand value:$37.4 billion
Cost dynamics:+13% for 2012
Two yellow arches, reduced to the letter "M", have long become a recognizable symbol of McDonald's. Here you can have a quick and hearty meal, while paying little money, which is why there are always huge queues in front of the ticket offices. McDonald's cafes are located in 119 countries around the world, serving about 68 million people daily.
The "McDonaldization" of society has caused sharp criticism of the cafe menu and business practices companies. In 2003, the Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia even introduced the term "macjob", meaning "a low-paying job that does not require special skills and provides little opportunity for development." Previously, this word was used in the novel "Generation X" by American writer Douglas Copeland. Despite negative reviews, McDonald's remains the most popular food service chain in the world.
Year of foundation: 1878
Industry: production of electrical, energy, medical equipment
World-famous inventor Thomas Edison founded a company originally called Edison Electric Light. After merging with Thomson-Houston Electric, it received its current name and organized mass production of light bulbs.
Brand value:$33.7 billion
Cost dynamics:+2% for 2012
It is the world's largest non-financial multinational company. General Electric is engaged in the production of household and lighting equipment, medical equipment, aircraft engines and even locomotives. She was the first to organize the mass production of electric refrigerators and washing machines, and her iconic product is the M134 Minigun multi-barreled machine gun, first used in the Vietnam War.
Despite the fact that in recent years, General Electric's business has deteriorated somewhat, the company is still an industrial giant in its industry. It even launched a cost-cutting program and continues to restructure its business, which allowed it to increase profits by 49% in the 3rd quarter of 2012, to $3.49 billion. In addition, in 2011, GE ranked 16th in the Fortune Global 500.
Year of foundation: 1916
Industry: Automotive industry
Initially, the company was created by Karl Friedrich Rapp for the production of aircraft engines: the blue and white emblem of BMW was interpreted as an aircraft propeller against the sky. The company now claims the colors are taken from the flag of Bavaria, where BMW AG was founded.
Brand value:$26.3 billion
Cost dynamics:+18% for 2012
The popularity of this brand has always been very high, and after the "Bond" interest in it only increased: agent 007 traveled on the legendary BMW. A high-quality, reliable and fast car won the love and respect of consumers long ago. The success of the company can be called a foregone conclusion: many records were set on BMW aircraft engines, and Ernst Henne became the fastest motorcyclist in the world on a BMW motorcycle.
Today, BMW AG is the world market leader in the sale of luxury cars. One of the secrets of the company's success is its CEO Norbert Reithofer called maintaining the BMW brand: “For us, it's everything. First of all, a brand is a promise that the consumer will receive a product with a certain set of qualities, and a product under this brand deserves the attitude you expect.”
10.Cisco
Founded: 1984
Industry: telecommunications
The company was founded by married couple Leonard Bosack and Sandra Lerner, who worked at Stanford University. The name Cisco comes from the abbreviated San Francisco, and the logo is a stylized image of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Brand value:$26.3 billion
Cost dynamics:+7% for 2012
This is, perhaps, one of those "pillars" on which the entire modern telecommunications infrastructure and the Internet are based. It is Cisco that manufactures the highest quality network equipment, striving to provide customers with everything they need.
At first, the company was engaged in the production of only routers (network computers that forward data packets between different network segments. - Ed.), but since then its range has expanded significantly. Now Cisco also produces universal gateways, cable modems, DSL equipment, video surveillance systems, and servers. You can call Cisco a monopoly in its field, because the world's leading organizations and Internet providers turn to the company for products. In Russia, Cisco plans to participate in the creation of the Skolkovo innovation center by establishing the Academy of IT Professionals on its territory.
The rating is based on the list provided by Forbes magazine in 2012. The criterion for its formation was the assessment of companies' income over the past three years and the share of their profits in their industry. Also consulting firms Landor and PSB conducted a survey among consumers to create a ranking of their perceptions.
Text: Ksenia Menshchikova
Today, you can see that the brand world is not so small as it might seem at first glance. Below we list the most famous brands in the world of fashion and style.
Topping the list is Louis Vuitton. According to experts, this one is worth twenty-four billion dollars. Thus, since 2010, he has increased twenty-three percent of the total cost.
Further, Hermer leads by a wide margin. It is estimated at twelve billion dollars. Behind him are Gucci, Chanel, as well as other famous brands that are well known to all those who love luxury. Also on the list is a $5 billion Rolex.
In one year, Gucci gained another two percent, and as for Chanel, he managed to increase twenty-three percent in value.
So, the following is a description of the ten most popular brands in the United States.
However, first it must be said that not all of the brands described will be American, although most US residents are so used to them that they consider them their own.
In tenth place is Coca-cola. Only a person not from this planet may not know about such a brand. Its products are widely known all over the world. It is worth noting that the Santa Claus costume was not always red. First of all, this is the merit of the promoters from the Coca-Cola company, because red is usually associated with this particular brand. This drink is no longer even purely American. This is a global phenomenon.
Ninth place is occupied by Disney. Despite all efforts domestic manufacturer cartoons, American cartoons are still the most popular, and this is not surprising. The budgets of Disney cartoons are truly impressive. Nothing bad to say about this product. Disney is well known to both adults and children.
In eighth place is Whole Foods Market. And although this brand is not as well known to everyone as, for example, Coca-Cola among Americans, it is highly popular (not that Russian Federation). In the USA, I know everything about him, from young to old. No wonder he takes the eighth position. In America, everyone knows that the Whole Foods Market is the place where everyone can buy everything they need, whether it be fresh fruits or quality meat.
Seventh place belongs to Nintendo. This trading is well known to all video game lovers. Anyone who once played on this console is unlikely to ever forget it. Due to the large number of various sports and entertainment games, this console is qualitatively different from a large number other game consoles. However, Nintendo does not consider itself a competitor to either the Xbox or the PS3 because of its original design and also because of how it works.
Sixth place went to BMW. Who does not know about this car brand? Everyone is well aware of it and not without reason, because the engineers and designers from this company managed to work well and create a high-quality car that is popular in all countries of the world.
In fifth place is Starbucks, which is engaged in the production of coffee drinks. The company's employees know all the subtleties of the preparation of "Barista", as well as "Frapuccino".
Target, which took the fourth position, needs no introduction. has a very memorable logo, which at the same time is simple and not intricate. The company previously competed with Wal-Marts and KMarts.
In third place is under the name Nike. At one time, he managed to make a splash in the sportswear market. He managed to oust many of his competitors and take his rightful place at the top of Olympus. At the beginning of its activity, the brand tried to work in two directions. He created high-quality and very comfortable sportswear, as well as the necessary accessories for it. In addition, he worked in the field of high-impact advertising, which was designed to popularize his sports products.
The second place belongs to Apple products. Steve Jobs, as well as his like-minded people, managed to create a truly unique company that this moment develops and implements quality digital technology. The designers and developers of this company, no doubt, do not eat their bread in vain. Apple products are not only different high efficiency, besides, it boasts an unsurpassed design performance. This trademark influenced the development of other companies, which all possible ways trying to copy appearance Apple products.
And finally, we got to the long-awaited first place. To whom does it belong? Who is at the top of Olympus? Of course, this is the Internet company Google, which was able to go from small firm to a real giant, moving multibillion sums and annually receiving multibillion-dollar profits. To date, the developers of this company are not only working on creating more and more new Internet services, as well as projects, they have gone offline and are working on creating many useful devices that, no doubt, can be useful to everyone in this world. So, Google is working on developing its own high-speed smartphone, tablet computer. Not so long ago, the leadership of an Internet company announced the release of an amazing gadget called “augmented reality glasses”, which allows you to fit all the computing power of a personal computer into small glasses.
Famous brands - a list of the most popular brands in the world and America was last modified: February 18th, 2013 by admin
The financial and economic magazine Forbes in 2013 published a list of the 100 most expensive brands in the world. Most of them are known to a wide audience, but there are also those that few people have heard of, at least some of us did not know about them.
1 Apple
American corporation, manufacturer of personal and tablet computers, audio players, phones, software.
2.Microsoft Corporation
One of the largest multinational companies producing proprietary software for various kinds computer science- personal computers, game consoles, PDAs, mobile phones and others. 
3. Google
The largest search engine on the Internet 
4. The Coca-Cola Company
American food company, the world's largest manufacturer and supplier of concentrates, syrups and soft drinks. 
5. IBM
A multinational corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York (USA), one of the world's largest manufacturers and suppliers of hardware and software, as well as IT services and consulting services. 
6. McDonald's Corporation
American corporation, the world's largest chain of fast food restaurants 
7. General Electric
American diversified corporation, manufacturer of many types of equipment, including locomotives, power plants (including nuclear reactors), gas turbines, aircraft engines, medical equipment, household and lighting equipment, plastics and sealants. 
8.Intel Corporation
An American corporation producing a wide range of electronic devices and computer components, including microprocessors, system logic sets, etc. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, USA. 
9. Samsung Group
Industrial concern, one of the largest in South Korea chaebol, founded in 1938. 
10 Louis Vuitton
French fashion house specializing in the production of suitcases and bags, fashion clothes and luxury accessories under the eponymous trademark. 
11. BMW
German manufacturer of cars, motorcycles, engines and bicycles. 
12.Cisco Systems
American multinational company that develops and sells network equipment. 
13.Oracle
American corporation, the world's largest developer of software for organizations, major supplier server hardware. 
14. Toyota Motor Corporation
The largest Japanese automotive corporation, which also provides financial services and has several additional lines of business. 
15. AT&T Inc.
One of the largest US telecommunications companies and one of the largest media conglomerates. 
16. Mercedes-Benz
Trademark cars premium class, trucks, buses and other Vehicle German automaker Daimler AG. 
17. The Walt Disney Company
One of the largest entertainment financial conglomerates in the world. 
18 Wal-Mart Stores
American retailer operating the world's largest retail chain operating under the Walmart brand. 
19. Budweiser
Brand of beer. 
20 Honda Motor Co.,Ltd
International industrial company, known primarily as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles. 
21. SAP AG
German company, manufacturer of software for organizations. 
22 Verizon Communications
American telecommunications company, one of the largest in the United States and worldwide. 
23. Gillette
Manufacturer of shaving accessories. 
24. Nike
American company, world famous manufacturer of sportswear and footwear. 
25. PepsiCo
American food company. 
26. American Express
American financial company. 
27. Nescafe
Nestlé's largest brand of instant coffee in the world. 
28. L'Oreal
French company, world market leader in perfumery and cosmetics. 
29. Marlboro
A brand of cigarettes manufactured by Philip Morris International since 1924. 
30. H&M
H&M is a Swedish company, the largest in Europe retail network clothing trade. 
31 HP
Hewlett-Packard is a large American information technology company, a supplier of hardware and software for organizations and individual consumers. 
32. HSBC
HSBC Holdings plc, the HSBC bank, is one of the largest financial conglomerates in the world. 
33. Amazon
Amazon.com Inc. is an American company, the largest in the world in terms of turnover selling goods and services via the Internet and one of the first Internet services focused on the sale of real consumer goods. 
34. Visa
An American multinational company providing payment transaction services. 
35.Siemens
German transnational concern operating in the field of electrical engineering, electronics, power equipment, transport, medical equipment and lighting, as well as specialized services V various fields industry, transport and communications. 
36. Facebook
37.ESPN
American cable sports television channel. 
38. Gucci
Italian fashion house and fashion brand. 
39. Nestle
Swiss company, the world's largest food manufacturer. 
40. Frito-Lay, Inc.
A division of PepsiCo, manufacturer of chips, corn sticks and other snack foods. 
41. IKEA
Dutch company, owner of one of the world's largest retail chains selling furniture and household goods. 
42.Danone
French company, a well-known manufacturer of dairy products and other food products. 
43.Audi
German automotive company within the Volkswagen Group, specializing in the production of cars under the Audi brand. 
44. Ford
American automobile manufacturer, manufacturer of cars under the Ford brand. 
45. Coach
An American company, a well-known manufacturer of luxury accessories. 
46 Fox Broadcasting Company
American television network. Fox is owned by Fox Entertainment Group. 
47. UPS
American company specializing in express delivery and logistics. 
48. The Home Depot
American commercial network, the largest on the planet selling repair tools and building materials. 
49. Accenture
Consulting company providing consulting services to organizations in the areas of strategic planning, optimization and organization of business process outsourcing, customer relationship management, logistics process management, personnel management, information technology implementation. 
50. Thomson Reuters
A media company formed from the April 2008 acquisition of Reuters by Thomson Media Corporation. 
December 25 is the birthday of Conrad Hilton, the man who built an empire. hotel business and brought the hospitality industry to a new level. Hilton Corporation and 9 other legendary companies of our time - in a special ELLE review.
Microsoft
Microsoft founder Bill Gates demonstrated his talent as a programmer in high school by devising a class schedule that allowed him to be in the class with the maximum number of girls every time. Who would have thought then what lies ahead for a savvy teenager - the creation of a transnational corporation that will develop the most popular in the world operating system Windows. Gates decided to start his own business in 1975, and in less than forty years his offspring has gone from three employees and $16,000 in the bank to the status of a business giant (nearly 90,000 people in the state) and the largest manufacturer of software, mobile phones and computer equipment. By the way, if you decide to try your luck and become part of the Microsoft team, keep in mind that the company takes great pleasure in accepting women into its ranks and even hosts summer camps for high school girls to spark their interest in the industry. But despite this, be prepared for an extraordinary selection procedure (for example, during testing, candidates have to answer questions like “why sewer manholes are round”), as well as for fierce competition - an average of 1 million 300 thousand resumes fall on one vacancy in the company.
McDonald's
Brothers Mac and Dick MacDonald pioneered fast food when they opened the first self-service restaurant in December 1948. It is likely that their business would have remained a California-scale project if not for a nimble cocktail mixer supplier named Ray Kroc, who, by the way, was on the verge of bankruptcy when he met the McDonalds. It was he who believed in the future of the company and launched the sale of franchises, and in 1961 he bought the business from the brothers for $2.7 million. The company was founded by him in 1955, and already in 1965 he managed more than 700 restaurants in the United States. The first foreign McDonald's opened in Canada in 1967, after which the hamburger corporation began its victorious march around the planet. In Russia, the opening of the first McDonald's took place on January 31, 1990 and caused an incredible stir: in spite of the cold, as many as 30,000 people lined up in line for overseas cheeseburgers. By the way, respecting the local traditions of different countries, the company adapts the menu and design of dishes: for example, there is no Big Mac in the menu of restaurants in India, but there is Maharaja Mac made from lamb meat. In total, McDonald's has more than 35,000 restaurants in the world, and despite scandals and litigation (it is worth remembering at least the story with the sensational documentary "Double Portion", as well as the recent court case won by Jamie Oliver), the company maintains its incredible popularity: more than 70 million people become its customers every day.
Dell
Michael Dell was not brilliant at school, but at the age of 12 he showed an extraordinary entrepreneurial talent, earning $ 2,000 thanks to the distribution of a subscription to the magazine. A simple craft opened up for a young businessman the technique of direct sales: Dell learned the names of newlyweds, sending them Greeting Cards with a two-week free subscription offer. Surprisingly, it was this direct sales technology that later became the proprietary know-how of the Dell business empire - a developer, manufacturer and seller of computers, servers and software. The company (which Dell founded at the age of 19 with $1,000 in its pocket) for the first time in its industry refused to work with intermediaries and excluded warehouses from the business chain: computers are assembled here only by order from the client and delivered directly to the buyer, offering constant service support, minimum prices and numerous bonus gifts as a bonus. Dell was the first company in its industry to decide to sell computers over the Internet. With such bold innovation and exceptional focus on the customer, it's no wonder that the corporation topped Fortune magazine's list of "Companies to Admire" in 2005.
Inditex
If the name is Spanish Inditex does not tell you much, believe me, you are very familiar with her brands: Zara, Oysho, Massimo Dutti, Bershka, Pull and Bear, Stradivarius - and this is not the whole list. The history of the corporation began in the 70s, when the Spanish entrepreneur Amancio Ortega decided to open an inexpensive but fashionable clothing store and named it Zara. The business turned out to be successful, Ortega continued to open more and more new stores, which in 1985 formed the Inditex holding. Further - more: within the framework of the corporation, new brands were born, each with its own style and target audience, then there were shops of textiles, accessories, shoes. Thanks to the variety of brands and the ability to instantly respond to the dynamics of demand, Inditex has become a real business empire, demonstrating fantastic growth rates. The company currently owns over 5,000 outlets on all 5 continents and does not plan to stop there.
Disney
The most popular family entertainment empire, Disney Corporation has gone from a tiny studio in a garage to one of the world's strongest giants in nine decades. Animation was a clear vocation for Disney: he began to draw comics from the age of seven, took a course in cartooning and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts. Starting in 1923 with cartoons about Alice in Wonderland, five years later he introduced the public to Mickey Mouse (who, by the way, he voiced himself), and seven years later he received an Oscar - the first of a record 29! In 1937, Disney gave the world Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the highest-grossing film of all time (surpassed only by Gone with the Wind), which ushered in a whole era of full-length cartoons. This was followed by the classics "Bambi", "Dumbo", "Beauty and the Beast", the company gained a whole army of fans. After numerous letters from viewers asking them to visit his studio, Disney decided to open a new business - an amusement park, which eventually became the key to the financial stability of the company and made Walt's heirs into billionaires: by 1960, the income from Disneyland exceeded the income from the film studio. Today, Walt Disney Productions, which is the second (after Time Warner) media holding, owns several film and recording studios, 535 branded stores, several newspapers and magazines, its own TV network, hockey and baseball teams, parks in different countries world, and the annual turnover is 21 billion dollars. I wonder what baggage the Disney empire will bring to the centenary?
LVMH
Guerlain, Givenchy, Hennesy, Bulgari, Marc Jacobs, Benefit, Don Peregnon and many, many more iconic luxury brands are all LVMH. The French concern, owned by the Bernard Arnault family and today the world's largest manufacturer of luxury goods, appeared in 1987 through the merger of two key market players - Louis Vuitton and Moët Hennessy. This deal marked the beginning of numerous acquisitions and mergers, the largest of which could have been the failed acquisition of Gucci in 1999. The luxury empire, with a turnover of more than 20 billion euros a year, includes companies producing clothing, watches, wine and spirits, leather goods, perfumes and cosmetics. Also included in the LMHV corporation are an auction house, financial publications, an art magazine, hotels, and a radio station. Declaring luxury as a passion, the company strives for perfectionism in everything and is actively working to find and develop talent. In addition to direct business development, LVHM pays attention to charity and responsible business conduct: the company supports a number of social projects and medical institutions, sponsors events in the arts, and is also involved in the preservation and restoration of cultural monuments.
Apple
It's even somewhat ridiculous to define Apple as a "manufacturer of personal computers." I would like to talk about this business empire, which has created a real cult of its products, only in superlatives: created by the legendary Steve Jobs on April 1 (just kidding, they joked) 1976, Apple today is the most valuable company in the world. She earns $300,000 every minute, the amount in her company bank account sometimes exceeds the amount held in the US Treasury account, and in the first quarter of 2014 alone, Apple earned more than Google, Facebook, and Amazon combined. Setting record after record, in March 2014 the company sold its 500 millionth iPhone, and apparently, it is not going to stop there - the covenant of the founder Jobs "to remain insatiable" seems to have become the unspoken motto of the corporation.
L'oreal
Hilton
Having given up on his unfulfilled dream of becoming a banker, 31-year-old native of a grocer's family, Conrad Hilton decided to try his luck in the hotel business. His first hotel, the Dallas Hilton, opened in 1925, he was determined to make the best hotel in Texas - and eventually created a hospitality empire. Even the Great Depression, which powerfully hit America in the 1920s, did not stop Hilton: forced to cede his company to creditors, he bought it out five years later and resumed active work, and in 1954 he stunned all of America by committing biggest deal and bought its main competitor, Statler Hotels, for $111 million. By the end of the 60s, Hilton owned more than 40 hotels in the United States, plus the same number abroad. The success of Hilton's business empire was built on numerous innovations that today are considered integral part hotel business. So, it was Hilton who came up with the “star” (by analogy with cognac) hotel rating system. He also suggested integrating hotels and casinos (which instantly increased the number of customers), opening hotels at the airport and putting quality of service at the forefront. In addition, Hilton liked to visit competitors' hotels, observing the atmosphere and behavior of customers. It was in the Hilton Corporation that the incentive system was introduced regular customers, an information and reference system for booking rooms in conjunction with air and railway tickets, and even a Pinacolada cocktail was created at the Hilton Hotel. Today the corporation has 3,800 hotels of various levels in 88 countries. It is noteworthy, by the way, that after the death of Conrad Hilton, the empire he built became, in accordance with the will, the property of charitable foundation Hilton Foundation. However, one of the businessman's sons managed to challenge his father's dying will in court, and a few years later the business empire returned to the "bosom of the Hilton family".
virgin group
In 1967, the principal of the school that Richard Branson graduated from, said goodbye to his (far from the best) student with these words: “Congratulations, Richard! You either go to jail or become a millionaire." The prediction came true: Branson became one of the most famous - and most outrageous - rich people of modern times, and his company - the greatest conglomerate of various business lines. It all started with an idea as bold as it was absurd: suffering from dyslexia and, accordingly, having not read a single book, Branson decided ... to publish a magazine! He went from a magazine to a music store, from stores to a record label, and off we went: a flight operator for balloons, publishing, international air travel, bridal wear, jewelry and cosmetics online, vodka production, comic book production, condoms... It's hard to say what is more striking in this endless list - scale or dispersion. Even Branson himself is rumored to be unsure exactly how many companies belong to his fantastic multi-brand, which now has $24 billion in combined revenue. It is obvious that the secret of the success of the Virgin Corporation is in courage, bordering on insanity: it is not in vain that the name Virgin Branson chose for his business as a designation of a "virgin" approach to business and the absence of any experience from any of the employees. A non-standard approach is manifested in Branson's company at all levels: there is absolutely no subordination here, informality and creativity are welcomed, and employees calmly drink beer during the working day. And Branson himself, who is currently preoccupied with the development, no more, no less, of space tourism, still loves adventure, outrageous antics and his immortal sweater, which he does not refuse even at meetings with royalty.
