The distribution system
205
17 Matsushita’s businesses evolved to dominate a strong vertical keiretsu. In 1982, of over 71,000 Japanese electronics retailers, two-thirds were under the top five makers, Matsushita, Toshiba, ¯ Hitachi, Sony and Sanyo, ¯ and half of those were under the single control of Matsushita (Miyashita and Russell, 1994, p. 124). 18 Ohmae, 1990, p. 156. 19 Japan in Revolution, An Assessment of Investment Performance by Foreign Firms in Japan, ACCJ, The Council of the European Business Community and A. T. Kearney, Inc., 1995, p. 13. Sample: US and EU firms, n = 127 (which is a 21 per cent response rate). 20 Auto makers select suppliers on the basis of quality, cost, capability of development and of delivery, management stability, previous performance and trust (FTC ‘Survey of Transactions between Firms and Auto Parts’, FTC/Japan Views, No. 17, February 1994, pp. 56–57).