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Teodorescu Octav Ion Valentin Nuta Bogdan

OLYMPUS’ Co. history and financial disaster

In Greek mythology, Mt.Olympus is the home of the twelve

supreme gods and goddesses. Olympus was named after this
mountain to reflect its strong aspiration to create high quality, world
famous products.

Mt.Olympus ©Greek National Tourism Organisation

"Olympus" has been used as a trademark since the time of

Takachiho Seisakusho, the predecessor of Olympus Corporation.
In Japanese mythology, it is said that eight million gods and
goddesses live in Takamagahara, the peak of Mt.Takachiho. The name
"Olympus" was selected as the trademark because Mt.Olympus, like
Mt.Takachiho, was the home of gods and goddesses. This trademark
is also imbued with the aspiration of Olympus to illuminate the world
with its optical devices, just like Takamagahara brought light to the
world.
Takachiho Seisakusho was renamed Takachiho Optical Co., Ltd.
in 1942 when optical products became the mainstay of the company.
In 1949, the name was changed again to Olympus Optical Co., Ltd. in
an attempt to enhance its corporate image.
And in 2003, the company made a fresh start as Olympus
Corporation, to show its willingness to establish a dynamic corporate
brand by unifying the corporate name and the well-known brand.
In recent years, Olympus Corporation has focused on "Opto-
Digital Technology" as its core competence, technological strengths
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Teodorescu Octav Ion Valentin Nuta Bogdan

that competitors cannot easily imitate, to maximize corporate value

and to become one of the top optical instrument manufactures.

 Branding/Rebranding
1919-

The first corporate logo was "TOKIWA", not "OLYMPUS".

"TOKIWA" was derived from Tokiwa Shokai, the company
which the founder, Takeshi Yamashita, had worked for. To
Shokai held an equity stake in Takachiho Seisakusho and
responsible for marketing Takachiho products.

The logo reads "TOKIWA TOKYO." The "G" and "M" mark
above are believed to be the initials of, Goro Matsukata, th
president of Tokiwa Shokai.

1921-

The Olympus brand was introduced in February 1921.

This logo was used for microscopes and other products.

Brochures and newspaper ads for cameras also sported th
logo. The "OLYMPUS TOKYO" logo is still in use today.

There was a period in which OIC was used instead of TOK

in the logo. OIC stood for Optical Industrial Company, whic
was a translation of Olympus' Japanese corporate name a
time. This logo was used for the GT-I and GT-II endoscope
among others.

1970-

This logo, used from 1970 to 2000, was designed to give

impressions of quality and sophistication.

2001-

The yellow line underneath the logo is called the "Opto-Dig

Pattern" and it represents light and boundless possibilities
digital technology. It symbolizes dynamic and innovative n
of Opto-Digital Technology and Olympus Corporation.

This logo is called the Communication Symbol of Olympus

it represents Olympus' brand image.
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Teodorescu Octav Ion Valentin Nuta Bogdan

 The Downfall
On 1 April 2011, Michael Woodford, 51, was named president
and chief operating officer – the first ever foreigner to hold the
position – replacing Kikukawa, who became chairman. Woodford, an
Olympus veteran of 30-years, was previously Executive Managing
Director of Olympus Medical Systems Europa. Olympus appointed
Woodford its CEO six months later, but the board suddenly removed
him as chief executive two weeks into the job, while allowing him to
retain his board seat.
Woodford alleged that his removal was linked to several prior
acquisitions he questioned, particularly the US$2.2 billion deal in
2008 to acquire British medical equipment maker Gyrus Group.
Thomson Reuters reported that US$687 million was paid to a middle-
man as a success fee – a sum equal to 31% of the purchase price, and
which ranks as the highest ever M&A fee. According to the Daily
Telegraph, some of the sums paid out relating to the acquisition of a
technology company ITX were also under examination. Woodford
noted that an article in Japanese financial magazine Facta in July
prompted his suspicion of the transactions. Reports also said the
company acquired three other Japanese companies outside its core
business, and recognised that the assets were worth US$721 million
less than their acquisition value 12 months previously.
Shareholders expressed concern after Olympus' share price
nearly halved in value following the Woodford revelations, and asked
for "prompt action". Following his dismissal, Woodford passed on
information to the British Serious Fraud Office, and requested police
protection. He said the payments may have been linked to "forces
behind" the Olympus board.Japanese newspaper Sankei suggest that
a total of $1.5bn in acquisition-related advisory payments could be
linked to the Yakuza.
The company responded on 19 October that "major differences
had arisen between Mr. Woodford and other management regarding
the direction and conduct of the company’s business". On the Gyrus
acquisition, it also declared the Audit Board's view that "no
dishonesty or illegality is found in the transaction itself, nor any
breach of obligation to good management or any systematic errors by
the directors recognised."On 26 October, the company announced
that in order to assuage shareholders' concerns, Kikukawa resigned
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as chairman; he was replaced by Shuichi Takayama. Olympus shares

rebounded 23 percent.
On 8 November 2011, the company admitted that the money
had been used to cover losses on investments dating to the 1990s
and that company's accounting practice was "not appropriate", thus
coming clean on "one of the biggest and longest-running loss-hiding
arrangements in Japanese corporate history", according to the Wall
Street Journal. The company laid the blame for the inappropriate
accounting on ex-president Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, auditor Hideo
Yamada and executive VP Hisashi Mori.
On 21 December 2011, Japanese authorities, including the
Tokyo prosecutor's office, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and the
Japanese Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission, raided
the company's offices in Tokyo.
In February 2012, Seven Olympus executives were arrested by
Japanese police and prosecutors. Ex-president Tsuyoshi Kikukawa,
former executive vice president Hisashi Mori and former auditor
Hideo Yamada were taken into custody on suspicion of violating the
Financial Instruments and Exchange Law, along with former bankers
Akio Nakagawa and Nobumasa Yokoo and two others, suspected of
having helped the board hide significant losses.
On 25 September 2012, the company and Kikukawa, Yamada,
and Mori pleaded guilty to collusion to submit false financial reports.
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Teodorescu Octav Ion Valentin Nuta Bogdan

 New Era
In order to regain its clients trust and market shares, Olympus
Corporation has made a public a file in wich they state their new position
together with the regrets regarding this scandal.

Commitment to Compliance
Olympus Corporation
Olympus Corporation sincerely regrets that its past misconduct has caused
people and society enormous difficulties and undermined stakeholder confidence.
With this in mind, and in keeping with the company's Social IN philosophy, the
new management team hereby declares its commitment, as follows：

To regain stakeholder trust and to enhance corporate value, Olympus'

management is committed to complying with all laws and regulations
and respecting social norms at all times.

In the effort to achieve sustainable growth, the management reaffirms the

importance of laws, regulations and social norms, and fostering a corporate
culture in which each employee, as a member of the Olympus Group, considers
what is right and then acts in accordance with the company's guiding principles.

If this commitment is violated in any way, the cause shall be investigated, any
past action bearing responsibility shall be brought to light and preventive
measures shall be implemented.

By transforming our organization, we aim to create new value for society, to

improve communication with all stakeholders and to increase the transparency of
our decision making.

We reaffirm our basic mission of creating value for society through technology,
quality and service, and we pledge that all employees of the Olympus Group will
make a concerted effort to contribute to healthier and more fulfilling lives for
people.

Hiroyuki Sasa President and Representative Director Olympus Corporation