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In 1967, the European Community (EC) was formed among six countries and this union has continued to expand ever since.
Namiki, Mizushima, and Idei were not yet quite 30 years of age when they were given assignments to establish local companies in Europe. When they were chosen, there were voices within Sony advocating older, more experienced businessmen for the assignments. But one of Sony's policies is to give young and inexperienced employees a chance if they are promising. Rising stars are given great responsibilities and a degree of freedom. The three men were entrepreneurs and full of energy. Once abroad, they struggled with new business practices, laws, and rules which were totally different from what they were accustomed to, but they made steady progress. They received the full support of Tetsuro Yotsumoto back at the International Division in Japan. In May 1968, Namiki was the first to dissolve a relationship with local distributor Debenhams, founding Sony (UK) Ltd. under Haruo Fukatsu.
Debenhams at that time had only three sales representatives dedicated to selling Sony products. These three handled the accounts of 600 dealers. When Namiki learned of this, he was in utter shock.  We'll never be able to expand in large strides with this kind of sales infrastructure, he said to himself. Fortunately, Debenhams had a well-earned reputation, and the dissolution of Sony's distribution agreement occurred on amicable terms. The president of Debenhams even gave Sony (UK) a gift to congratulate the company on its new beginning. Debenhams allowed Sony (UK) to hire several of its employees who had been working on the Sony account and sold Sony a large desk for Namiki and two delivery trucks at a very low price. Debenhams even agreed to be the guarantor for Sony (UK) to rent its first office space. Because the Japanese government had imposed a strict limitation on foreign exchange transactions, the support Debenhams provided Sony (UK) was invaluable to the new company.
Due to the strong support and encouragement from Debenhams, Namiki and his team were extremely motivated to succeed. Business in the UK therefore grew at a rapid pace. In its first month of business, sales were double what Debenhams had recorded in the previous month. In six months, Sony was selling three times what Debenhams had sold in the same month of the previous year.
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The Sony UK sales office around 1970 |
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In June 1970, Mizushima founded Sony G.m.b.H. in Cologne, home to Grundig, Nordmende, Telefunken, and other electronics giants. In terms of hierarchy at Sony G.m.b.H., Akio Morita served as president, Haruo Fukatsu as director, and Yasumasa Mizushima as company secretary. As the Germans were proud and confident that their domestic electronics manufacturers were the world leaders, it was an uphill battle for a little-known Japanese company like Sony to sell in Germany.
Sony G.m.b.H. began with only slightly more than 20 local and 5 Japanese employees. When Sony products were sold through distributors, sales floundered. But once Sony began selling to dealerships directly, Mizushima's policy of promoting the superior quality of Sony products boosted sales. By the end of 1970, Sony G.m.b.H was affluent enough to provide Mizushima with a Mercedes-Benz as a company car.
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