Hidden champions

Hidden champions are relatively small but highly successful companies that are concealed behind a curtain of inconspicuousness, invisibility, and sometimes secrecy. The term was coined by Hermann Simon. He first used the term as a title of a publication in a scientific German management journal, describing the small, highly specialized world-market leaders in Germany. According to his definition, a company must meet three criteria to be considered a hidden champion: Number one, two, or three in the global market, or number one on the company's continent, determined by market share Revenue below $5 billion Low level of public awareness Discovering hidden champions The first English book about the subject was Hermann Simon's Hidden champions: lessons from 500 of the world's best unknown companies. The book explores how Germany was able to consistently be (at the time) the number one exporter in the world. While Germany has global corporations like Volkswagen, Siemens, BASF and Bosch, these organisations are not substantially different from organisations like Ford, GE, DuPont or Visteon. Simon postulates that Germany's strong exports are supported by a large number of midsize firms. These smaller companies are normally known only in their market by their customers and suppliers, and are relatively unknown to the wider public. When these companies are very successful on the international markets they are hidden champions.