Amar Bose founded Bose Corporation in Massachusetts in 1964. Bose’s interest in speaker systems developed in 1956 when he purchased a stereo system but was disappointed with its performance.
In 1968, the company introduced the Bose 901 stereo speaker system. The 901 was a commercial success. Last year, Bose Corporation’s annual sales were $ 3.2 billion and the company employed approximately 7000 people.
Bose headphones are worn today by professional pilots and space shuttle astronauts. Its car audio system has been factory-installed in luxury brands such as Maserati and Maybach.
So what has made a brand launched by a professor of Indian descent in the US such a world beater that his parent nation of 1.4 billion people has not been able to catch up?
First and foremost, it has been relentless research. It has led to unparalleled innovation. It resulted in unbeatable excellence.
The second is the mindset of Bose. While at MIT, he amassed a number of patents. Instead of licensing these to another company, he decided to keep these and started a company of his own.
The third is the hard work of Bose. In early years, Bose would spend time at MIT with his teaching duties and would work on government and NASA contracts, and then at night he would come back and put in what he called the ” second shift ” – when he would start working on all of his audio ideas.
To conclude, high risk-taking ability and passionate hard work paid off in creating the global brand. Few Indian brands are nearing to it.
