Seiko Group (セイコー・グループ, Seikō Gurūpu) was a Japanese corporate group consisting of three core companies Seiko Holdings Corp. (Seiko; f/k/a K. Hattori & Co., Hattori Seiko), Seiko Instruments Inc. (SII; f/k/a Daini Seikosha, Seiko Instruments & Electronics) and Seiko Epson Corp (Epson; f/k/a Suwa Seikosha). The three companies were linked by a common thread of timepiece technology. In the present day, the Seiko Group is recognized as a corporate group composed of Seiko Group Corporation and its subsidiaries and affiliates. Although Epson still develops and manufactures wristwatches for the Seiko Group, Epson and its subsidiaries are not considered part of the group.
History
editIn June 2003, Seiko Epson became public following their listing on the 1st section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Since then, Seiko and the Hattori family have reduced their holdings in Seiko Epson. Although Seiko Group Corporation (f/k/a K. Hattori, Hattori Seiko, and Seiko Holdings) and the key members of the Hattori family still hold approximately 10% of the outstanding shares of Seiko Epson, the company is managed and operated completely independently from Seiko Group. Epson is several times larger than the Seiko Group in terms of revenue and market cap. It has established its own brand image and rarely uses 'Seiko.'
As of October 1, 2009, Seiko Instruments (SII) was merged into Seiko Holdings and became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Seiko Holdings.
In 2020, Seiko Instruments transferred its watch business (including its luxury mechanical watch studio, Morioka Seiko Instruments in Shizukuishi, Iwate) to Seiko Watch Corp. and no longer produces SEIKO watches while it supplies watch parts such as quartz crystal resonators and micro batteries to the watch productions.
On October 1, 2022, Seiko Holdings Corporation renamed Seiko Group Corporation.[1] Currently, the original K.Hattori & Co., Ltd. (服部時計店, Hattori Tokeiten) is a holding company called "Seiko Group Corporation" and holds the Seiko companies including Seiko Watch, Seiko Instruments, Seiko Time Creation, Seiko Solutions, Seiko NPC Corporation, Seiko Future Creation, Ginza Wako, etc.
Seiko Watch Corp., a subsidiary of Seiko Group Corp., markets SEIKO watches while its subsidiaries Morioka Seiko Instruments, Tono Seiki, Ninohe Tokei Kogyo and foreign subsidiaries manufacture their mechanical and quartz movements.[2] Seiko Watch delegates the manufacture of some of its high-end quartz and spring drive watches (Seiko Astron, Grand Seiko, Credor, etc) to the Wearable Products Operations Division of Epson.
Time Module (TMI), a member of the Seiko Group, was established in 1987 with funding from Seiko Watch Company, Seiko Instruments Inc., and Seiko Epson Corp. to manufacture watch movements.[3][4] Currently, TMI is wholly owned by Seiko Group Corp.
Companies
edit- Seiko Group Corporation (Seiko), headquartered in Tokyo[citation needed]
- Seiko Watch Corporation (marketing watches)
- Seiko Clock Inc. (development, manufacturing, sales and repair of clocks)
- Seiko Sports Life Co., Ltd. (golf clubs, stopwatches, etc.)
- Seiko Time Systems Inc. (system clocks, etc.)
- Seiko Service Center Co., Ltd. (repair and after service for watches)
- Seiko Business Services Inc. (general affairs & human resources)
- Seiko Precision Inc. (electronic/micromechatronics devices, printers, information equipment, system clocks and production equipment, etc.)
- Seiko NPC Corporation (semiconductors)
- Seiko Jewelry Co., Ltd. (jewelry)
- Seiko Optical Products Co., Ltd. (eyeglasses - lenses & frames)
- Ohara Inc. (specialty optical glass; Seiko owns 32.2% TYO: 5218)
- Wako Co., Ltd. (upscale specialty retailer)
- Cronos Inc. (upscale specialty retailer)
- etc.
- Seiko Instruments Inc. (SII), a subsidiary of Seiko Group Corporation, headquartered in Chiba
- SII NanoTechnology Inc.
- Morioka Seiko Instruments Inc.
- SII Network Systems Inc.
- SII Mobile Communications Inc.
- SII Data Service Corp.
- SII Printek Inc.
- SII Microtechno Inc.
- SII Micro Parts Ltd.
- SII Micro Precision Inc.
- Epolead Services Inc.
- Seiko I Infotech Inc.
- Seiko I Techno Research Co., Ltd.
- Seiko EG&G Co., Ltd.
- City Service Co., Ltd.
- SII Crystal Technologies, Ltd.
- etc.
- Seiko Epson Corporation (Epson), headquartered in Suwa, Nagano
- Epson Sales, Japan Corporation
- Miyazaki Epson Corporation
- Epson Direct Corporation
- Epson Service Corporation
- Epson Atmix Corporation
- Epson Software Development Laboratory Inc.
- Yasu Semiconductor Corporation
- Seiko Epson Contact Lens Corporation
- Seiko Lens Service Center Corporation
- Epson Imaging Devices Corporation
- Orient Watch
- Trume Watch
- etc.
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ "商号の変更および定款の一部変更に関するお知らせ" [Announcement of Change in Trade Name and Partial Amendment to Articles of Incorporation] (PDF) (Press release) (in Japanese). Seiko Holdings Corporation. 2022-05-10. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
- ^ "Seiko Factory Visit - Trip Report Part 1". Fratello Watches. 2015-11-06. Retrieved 2021-01-14.
- ^ Time Module (TMI) website
- ^ "Profile: TMI", Hong Kong Trade Development Council