Corporate Integration
According to the electronics industry on June 14, Harman recently announced the birth of its new CI through its homepage and social network service (SNS).
The new logo adds the word “A SAMSUNG COMPANY” to the image used by Harman before. In particular, the logo emphasized a sense of belonging by displaying the name of 'SAMSUNG' in bold. The previous logo was a blue elliptical band circling the company name 'HARMAN' written in cyan.
"CI emphasizes that we are not just an audio company but an internet of things (IoT) company," said an official of Harman. “The elliptical shape around HARMAN stands for IoT and technology."
However, instead of adding Samsung to 17 affiliated logos such as AKG, Harman Kardon, JBL, Martin, and Lexicon, Harman decided to use their same forms. It is interpreted as an intention to acknowledge Harman's independent management and not to undermine their premium images in the market.
On the other hand, on March 13, Sandra Rowland, chief financial officer (CFO) of Harman emphasized synergies out of Samsung’s takeover of Harman, saying, "It has become possible to think bigger since we became a member of Samsung Electronics.”
"Thanks to the use of Samsung Electronics' balance sheet, we no longer have to go to the money market," CFO Rowland said. "In a material way, as revolving limited loans were converted into Samsung's loans, only about 600 million dollars in loans is remaining at Harman as all of Harman shares were exchanged for Samsung Electronics’ shares. Automotive equipment is a new market to Samsung. Samsung’s acquisition of Harman will be an opportunity to generate the highest amount of profit."