Sony, the consumer electronics giant that has missed the Internet transition, is seeking a revival

Sony, the consumer electronics giant that has missed the Internet transition, is seeking a revival. But as the three core business of the mobile, video, games, have been completed by the opponents layout.

Sony CEO Hirai recently received an interview with the author in Shanghai, hoping to use the Chinese market to accelerate Sony's "revival plan". However, China and the rest of the world market is huge, Hirai and other Sony executives understand the Chinese market? How does Sony's global product strategy combine with localization? Will Sony's China change bureau succeed?

Sony again changed the Bureau

Sony used to be a "synonym" for the global consumer electronics market, but Sony's traditional business was lost in the face of a new generation of mobile terminals like Apple and Samsung and a combination of internet technology companies.

After a 98.9 billion yen loss in fiscal year 2008, Sony quickly moved on to the downside, after 2009, 2010 and 2011, respectively, losing 40.8 billion, 259.6 billion and 456.7 billion yen (about 5.74 billion dollars). The historic catastrophe led to Sony's first "Yang Shuai" Ginger was forced to leave, leaving Hirai is a failure to change, "Mountain", the department and staff bloated, and the entire business is on the verge of "rout" of the crisis.

February 2012, the author in Barcelona for the first time to see the Hirai of the official CEO. He first proposed the "one Sony" group strategy, the company's organizational structure of a comprehensive reform, split into 10 two-level group, to eliminate the conservative forces on the various product lines to control the ability to abandon some of the huge loss of business, but also opened the Japanese company's history of a few big layoffs.

Hirai's efforts were finally "turned around" in Sony's 2012 fiscal year, which was seen by the media as the beginning of Sony's "Renaissance". But behind the handsome earnings, Sony's core business did not show signs of a clear recovery, as a result of a series of "shrinking" strategies, such as Sony's global layoffs, a 2.3 billion-dollar sale of Tokyo and New York office building, a 730 million-dollar sale of chemical products, and a 470 million-dollar sale of 3% per cent

Sony's revival is overshadowed by a renewed quarterly loss in the second quarter of this year, and a downgrade of its 2013-year forecast, after a 180 million dollar loss on the film and television business. How are Hirai and Sony going to "Change" again?

Hirai China strategy

In the eyes of the Chinese media, Hirai is secretive, and has rarely been interviewed by the media since April 2012, when he was officially CEO. But in the face of difficulties, Hirai the Chinese market as its "change the bureau" an important beginning.

November 12, Hirai in the "Sony Charm Tour" China's full range of product launch of the High-profile debut, but also received a number of domestic media interviews. Interestingly, after a one-hour interview, Hirai interrupted the "last question" of the PR department and asked for an additional half-hour interview, a practice that won the unanimous applause of nearly 15 Chinese media.

So how does Sony "Change" in China next? Hirai stressed that the three core business of mobile, video and game as Sony "from defense to attack" three core business, this and Sony's global strategy is not small, but in the Chinese market there are different interpretations.

Smartphones: As Sony's three core businesses, smartphones have become the first significant growth point for Sony's revenue. Its second quarter was a total loss, but smartphone sales rose sharply, plus the average unit price increase, with sales rising 39.3% to 418.6 billion trillion yen compared with a year earlier.

Hirai that the main advantage of Sony's move is to highlight the overall advantage of one Sony, which in the past did not do enough, such as video departments often provide technology two years ago to the smartphone business, resulting in a lack of competitiveness with Apple and Samsung. Sony currently has three major strategies for smartphones:

1, the whole electronic business assets into the intelligent products;

2, in addition to the use of digital imaging technology in smartphones, but also the TV's Terri Color technology, audio clear +audio technology;

3. Sony Entertainment and online content: including music unlimited,video unlimited,playstation receptacle These platforms will revolve around Sony's smartphone business in the future.

However, Sony mobile phone in the second quarter of the global market share is still only 2.2%, far behind Samsung, Apple, and even Lenovo, Huawei, ZTE and other Chinese handset manufacturers. In the Chinese market, 2012, Sony China Mobile phone shipments of about 1.8 million units, did not enter the first 10 of domestic mobile phone shipments.

Hirai said that in Sony's Android handset sales, Japan and Europe two markets accounted for more than 60%, which is Sony's traditional advantage market, but China and the United States has become Sony's most important new market. Sony's latest smartphone product, Xperia Z1, is first listed in China, and Sony is one of two international companies to participate in the first mobile 4G mobile phone listings. Sony will continue to increase its cooperation with Chinese operators, and continue to launch the latest strategic models, I believe that the next China's share will be significantly improved.

Sony expects the company's smartphone sales to increase by more than one-fourth per cent in the fiscal year ending in late March 2014, to 42 million.

Digital Image: In Sony's three core businesses, digital imaging is the most difficult problem. The lucrative SLR market is dominated by Canon and Nikon, and the Sony SLR business must compete with Samsung and other manufacturers. Sony's traditional card-machine business has been hit by a rapid rise in the image of a smartphone camera.

In the second quarter of this year, the number of Sony digital cameras and compact digital camera sales decreased, sales revenue fell 6.9%, to 175.5 billion yen.

Hirai has not introduced the business to the Chinese market too much, it only emphasizes that the digital imaging business will be more closely integrated with mobile phones and other businesses in the Chinese market, such as the two smartphone cameras previously released by Sony, using 18.2 million and 20.2 million pixel sensors, and China is the world's first open market.

Game: In the interview, Hirai specifically stressed the importance of gaming business to the revival of Sony. In its view, the life cycle of the games in the past 10 years or so, PS3 is seven years, PS4 is the next ten years of platform-type strategic products, in addition to game functions, it also undertakes the role of content access. But the launch of the new host does not mean that the old PS3 will immediately exit the market, the current PS3 global sales have reached 80 million units.

With the formal establishment of the Shanghai FTA, the Chinese game machine market has finally begun to lift the ban on foreign investment. Prior to that, Microsoft had announced a partnership with domestic companies, with 79 million of billions of dollars to form a joint venture, and would launch a home gaming terminal using Xbox technology. What is Sony ready for?

Hirai a clear answer, saying that Sony PS4 consoles will definitely enter the Chinese market and are being prepared. But before that, there are several prerequisites:

1, Sony Games not only in Shanghai, but also in the scope of China to provide good products and services;

2, the second is the game not only to sell hardware, but also sell software, how to bring well-known game products to China, whether the content needs to be properly adjusted;

3, in China to sell PS3, PS4, PSVita, the overall operating facilities and platform to build a process;

For important points in time, Hirai said that Sony Group is also studying the Shanghai FTA on the game-related business of specific policies, there is no specific timetable for China.

Hirai need to know more about China market

"Mobile strategy is Sony's three core businesses, China is Sony's three major markets, but the smartphone business in China and Europe and Japan, the difference is huge, from your perspective, how do you view the current Chinese mobile phone market competition?" How does Sony offer more localized products? ”

Hirai not answer, but by Sony China President Kurita Tree made a simple reply, stressed the importance of cooperation with domestic operators.

Similar problems, I have to Nokia CEO Elop, former Sony Ericsson CEO Burt Nordberg, and even HTC chairman Wang to the mainland market asked similar questions. The reason is that this was once the international mobile phone giants common "scars."

Most notably, Nokia, which had a 3G licence in 2008, had an urgent need for international handset makers such as Nokia to support TD-SCDMA 3G handsets. At that time, the vice president of China Mobile terminal business had been to Hong Kong, Finland and Nokia high-level talks, but not until the end of 2009 Nokia Slow launch of the first TD mobile phone, and subsequent models, resulting in its transition and trough lost the world's largest operator support. Also in China Telecom CDMA market, Nokia was only in March 2012 with China Telecom launched the first CDMA flagship mobile phone.

After Nokia announced the sale of its mobile phone business to Microsoft, its Chinese staff have lamented this history, said that the Chinese market is the world's largest market, but Nokia two successive CEOs have ignored the rapid transformation of the Chinese mobile phone market reality, the voice of the head of the Chinese region has not finally attracted high-level attention, A number of reasons have led to a rapid "crash" of Nokia in China, which is home to hundreds of millions of users.

Of course, Sony, as an electronic consumer group, Nokia, Sony Ericsson, HTC Single mobile phone business is not the same, but whether the smartphone or the game business in China and Japan, Europe, and even the United States market is huge difference, not only facing many local companies, the game business is facing stringent policy risks.

Perhaps as Hirai said, "Sony's current product development capabilities have not fully recovered, but we are on the right path, it will take some time." But will Sony's rivals in the Chinese market give Sony the chance?