3. Finnish Giant Nokia Sold Toilet Paper
If you need any evidence that you can change the nature of the business as it you go along, then Nokia is the example you need.
Similarly to Nintendo of Japan, Nokia was founded way before the digital revolution of the 20th century, which made them a household names.
The telecoms giant was founded in 1865 in the Finnish town of Tampere as a paper mill.
They even produced their own toilet paper!
However, it wasn’t until the turn of the 20th century that the company branched out into other markets, including electricity production and rubber manufacturers.
In the late 60s and early 70s, after a restructuring of all of the company’s divisions, Nokia started to play an active role in the electronic market.
It was the innovation during these early days of digital technology which enabled them to become a market leader, and after acquiring Ericsson Information Systems in 1988, they went on to become a world leader in the 1990s for mobile devices.