Sony has had a rough time in recent years, with the global recession especially acute in Japan and currency issues making it difficult to match competitors in other Asian countries. But Sony CEO Howard Stringer, speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show, said things are looking up as the company delivers innovation while cutting costs.
“We are handicapped because of the recession in Japan, and we are handicapped — as are all of Japanese CE (consumer electronics makers) — by the high yen, which give us a disadvantage against China and Korea,” Stringer said at a press conference.
Sony has struggled in the television business against South Korea’s LG Electronics and other Korean and Chinese manufacturers. While Sony is largely swimming upstream because of currency differences, “the pendulum swings both ways on that, and we are getting our costs down considerably,” Stringer said. “We are fighting it, we are fighting very aggressively, and so far the roof hasn’t fallen in.”
A 3-D Summer
Indeed, Sony plans to take a very aggressive stance this summer to sell 3-D high-definition televisions and Blu-Ray Disc players. “Better to go all out, better to take the risk,” Stringer said Friday at a briefing at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. “We are working at a different pace from the Sony of some years ago.”
All well and good, but especially with the currency headwinds, Sony will encounter tough competition in the new 3-D TV market, according to analysts.
“Competition in the global television market is extremely tough and everyone is looking to win a leading share in 3-D devices,” Nobuo Kurahashi, an analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities in Tokyo, told Bloomberg. “The marketing strategy at the beginning will likely give a significant impact in determining who’s going to be the leader of the new market.”
Sony’s competition for 3-D TVs…