Aiwa
Aiwa Co., Ltd., branded as Aiwa (; stylised aiwa), was a Japanese consumer electronics company specializing in audio products. It was founded in 1951 by Mitsuo Ikejiri in Tokyo first developing microphones. The company was a majority-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation from 1969 until 2002 although ran independently and often competed with its parent.
The company was for some time a leading manufacturer of audio products. It is credited for introducing Japan's first portable boombox in the year 1968 and the very first personal stereo cassette recorder in 1980 (the TP-S30). While prominent in earlier years in high-end tape decks, Aiwa later shifted to more mass market products such as its line of personal cassette players (marketed as CassetteBoy in Japan). In the 1990s, Aiwa was a major maker of mini component systems ("shelf stereos") with its NSX line and was also prominent in portable CD players. Despite not having the brand strength and recognition of Sony, Aiwa products were popular due to their more affordable cost, while still providing good quality.
Aiwa declined into deep financial trouble by the millennium, leading to a full buyout and merger into Sony who relaunched Aiwa in 2003 as a modern youth-targeting tech brand. This proved unsuccessful and the brand was soon abandoned by Sony. Since 2015, the brand has been revived and licensed by other companies around the world, including a relaunch as an independent company in Japan by Towada Audio in 2017.
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