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Business model reinvention is challenging—but not impossible. Executives can take heart by recalling some of the successful reinvention stories of decades past. See how well you know them by taking our short quiz.
Test your knowledge of business reinvention history
Image: Adobe Stock / Credit: Natee Meepian
Image: Adobe Stock
Playing cards
Automated looms
Petrochemicals
Musical instruments
Question 1/7
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Nintendo, the video game giant, was originally in the business of manufacturing what?
In 1889, long before Super Mario, founder Fusajiro Yamauchi’s company made hanafuda playing cards at its headquarters in Kyoto, Japan.
Source: Nintendo.
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Image: Getty / Credit: The Asahi Shimbun
Military vehicles
Leather goods
Machine tools
Tractors
Question 2/7
Ferruccio Lamborghini, who began making tractors from reconfigured military surplus after World War II, introduced his first tractor, the Carioca, in 1948.
Source: Museo Ferruccio Lamborghini; history.com.
Prior to making its name as a manufacturer of luxury automobiles, Lamborghini made what?
Source: Museo Ferrucio Lamborghini; history.com.
Image: Alamy / Credit: Wing Lun Leung
Image: Alamy / Credit: Ed Buziak
Confectionery
Textiles
Saddle- and harness-making
Military uniforms
Question 3/7
Founded in 1923 by brothers Henry, Herman, and Hillel Hassenfeld, Hasbro first sold textile remnants before moving to pencil boxes and school supplies.
Source: Hasbro.
Hasbro, the global toymaker known for its board games and action figures, started out in what business?
Image: Shutterstock / Credit: Sundry Photography
Image: Getty / Credit: Xavier Zimbardo
Radios
Building products
Vegetable oil
Insurance
Question 4/7
Founded in 1945 as West India Palm Refined Oils Limited, the original Wipro made vegetable oil, soap, and other related products.
Source: Statista.
Wipro, the India-based IT services giant, initially sold what?
Image: Alamy / Credit: Piotr Swat
Image: Getty / Credit: Olga Seifutdinova
Box-making
Winemaking
Shoemaking
Watchmaking
Question 5/7
Louis Vuitton founded his eponymous company in 1854, specializing in the manufacture of boxes and trunks for travel on carriages, boats, and trains.
Source: Louis Vuitton, LVMH.
Luxury-goods maker Louis Vuitton started out in what business?
Image: Alamy / Credit: Peter Horree
Image: Alamy / Credit: ARCHIVIO GBB
Making bicycles
Producing cork
Building ships
Manufacturing rubber tires
Question 6/7
Founded in 1920 as Toyo Cork Kogyo Co. Ltd., the company later known as Mazda produced cork before a destructive factory fire in 1925 spurred the company’s move into the automotive sector.
Source: Mazda.
Before turning its attention to cars, the Japanese automobile manufacturer Mazda was in what business?
Image: Shutterstock / Credit: North Monaco
Image: Getty / Credit: Ivanb-photo
Propellers
Radial engines for dirigibles
Yarn
Typewriters
Question 7/7
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Though Textron is today known for making everything from golf carts to attack helicopters and weapons systems, the company started out in 1923 in the textile industry—when it was called the Special Yarns Corporation.
Source: Textron.
Textron, the US-based aerospace and defense company, began in manufacturing what?
Image: Shutterstock / Credit: Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto
Image: Getty / Credit: ideeone
Looks like this quiz surprised you, but that’s okay. Reinvention often delivers surprising results.
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1 out of 7 correct
2 out of 7 correct
Pretty good! You’re on your way to your own reinvention success story.
3 out of 7 correct
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5 out of 7 correct
Impressive. You know your business history—now get out there and make some of your own!
6 out of 7 correct
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