Sony Cutting 1,000 Jobs in Mobile Div after $2b Annual Loss
- Thread starter Ape
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whatever77
Banned
Offering unlocked phone on website has been tried many times by Google and Sony (remember that first waterproof one, X/XL twins), that tactic has no effect on the US market whatsoever.
Elwood Blues
Member
Sony does have ads for their products, it's just that all of those ads are in amazing spiderman movies.
speculawyer
Member
Samsung is killing them.
they're also killing themselves
Pristine_Condition
Member
Sony never should have been trying to compete at the mid-low end of the market anyway. Even Samsung is starting to get it's clock cleaned by the Chinese there.
They've proven they can make a nice premium product. Focus on that. Offer one or two premium models on a few configurations. That's it. If that doesn't work, shut it all down and find some blue water.
They've proven they can make a nice premium product. Focus on that. Offer one or two premium models on a few configurations. That's it. If that doesn't work, shut it all down and find some blue water.
Sectorseven
Member
So, who's in position to acquire Playstation?
whatever77
Banned
Whats wrong with the mid range market. If Motorola can compete with popular Moto E and G so can Sony too.
Sony just need to make similar product with slight different look.
Again the mobile market is expending, there is a piece of pie for Sony to eat if Sony try hard enough.
Oh lol ... I'll take a look at his requote, sorry.
hmm I see, that's very disappointing then.
Kaz, et al, had been making some decent strides to improve their image in certain sectors. It's sad to hear that hasn't extended to their dealings with carriers. They've been quite conciliatory when it came to Playstation, and while Vita continues to flounder it's obviously helped the PS4's position quite a bit. Granted MS's numerous missteps helped, but Sony's change in demeanor was a big part of things.
They need to make similar overtures to carriers and phone consumers. To be frank, we really need a company with Sony's tech prowess in the market ... if only to keep the mainstays honest. That's only more true now that Moto and HTC have dropped so much share. No one but Samsung wants Samsung alone in this market.
Seems so :\
It's sad given they have the tech and design chops.
Sectorseven
Member
Even if they were bold enough to make that buy, they'd probably mismanage it into the ground at this point.
There might even be bad blood between them still that would make a deal impossible.
OMG no
That would be soooooooooo fucking bad. They are the anti-Sony in so many areas.
Technosteve
Banned
The chinese will out innovate the japanese, i believe in lenovo
It's ok Sony. Just keep ignoring the US and your mobile division will be just fine.
I've ALWAYS wanted an xperia phone. But somehow they just don't seem willing to break into the US, at least not on Verizon.
It seems like as a whole, the company has been plagued with mismanagement from the top down. I still very much like their products and would continue to pay a premium for them.
I've ALWAYS wanted an xperia phone. But somehow they just don't seem willing to break into the US, at least not on Verizon.
It seems like as a whole, the company has been plagued with mismanagement from the top down. I still very much like their products and would continue to pay a premium for them.
Might want to wait until there are actual examples of this.
They've certainly done some great things in terms of pricing (which of course is due to shit wages) ... but I've seen little evidence of major innovations thus far.
The interesting thing is the US seems to be starting to slowly move towards non-subsidies.
So at least for GSM carriers, Sony may end up okay through no great strides of their own.
Technosteve
Banned
they bought motorola... and their previous purchase of IBM laptop division has made them the number one laptop manufacture in the world in terms of sales.
zomgbbqftw
Banned
The same shit wages that Xperia phones are made with. There is no Japanese labour input for Xperia devices except the camera sensor module and SG&A. Sony are trying to play the margin game in the mid range sector and they have lost all of their market share. From holding 6% at their global peak in 2012 it has halved to 3% now that only their premium phones hold any value for money.
The funny thing is that they seem to already reacting at least in the UK.
The Xperia Z3 Compact is currently ~470 USD (without shipping). With shipping it comes close to $500. I'm willing to pay the $50 premium over what I'd pay for Moto X or Nexus at launch because the better camera, battery life, and water proofing.
Anyways, I was doing research on whether to buy my Z3 Compact from Handtec or Clove. I was not going to even consider getting it this early, but I didn't want to wait 6 months for it be able to be order in the US.
I found this post on the clove website. Someone asked how Clove was able to significant slash the price. Clove employees reply:
"Hi Shaun, this is an understandable request for information.
We have no understanding exactly why, but Sony significantly dropped their list price to retailers a couple of days after Apple’s iPhone 6 announcement. Make of that what you will.
We have very close to ties to Sony’s UK marketing team and they gave us the green light to drop the retail price to £349. Whether Sony raise their list price after launch day (meaning we would have to raise the retail price for new stock) is their prerogative.
Personally I believe Sony are losing money on the sales made by Clove and some of our competitors at this price, which is why their own direct price remains higher, albeit with special pre-order offers to sweeten the deal. To them though, getting the phone in people’s hands over the iPhone 6 may be more important in the long run. It’s possibly a sales volume / revenue risk assessment on their part. Whatever the reason, it makes for a great offer to consumers!
I can’t comment on Amazon’s price, my initial thought is that maybe they are buying directly from Sony international and not their UK distribution arm. That or they simply don’t care about the list price of one product in the grand scheme of things. Amazon aren’t exactly small after all…
I can 100% guarantee that the price of 349 is VAT inclusive and guaranteed until launch day. If you’re also interested in the noise cancelling headphones, our list price for those is £39.99, again significantly cheaper than Sony’s direct sale listing of £51. You can view them here in Black or White"
The Xperia Z3 Compact is currently ~470 USD (without shipping). With shipping it comes close to $500. I'm willing to pay the $50 premium over what I'd pay for Moto X or Nexus at launch because the better camera, battery life, and water proofing.
Anyways, I was doing research on whether to buy my Z3 Compact from Handtec or Clove. I was not going to even consider getting it this early, but I didn't want to wait 6 months for it be able to be order in the US.
I found this post on the clove website. Someone asked how Clove was able to significant slash the price. Clove employees reply:
"Hi Shaun, this is an understandable request for information.
We have no understanding exactly why, but Sony significantly dropped their list price to retailers a couple of days after Apple’s iPhone 6 announcement. Make of that what you will.
We have very close to ties to Sony’s UK marketing team and they gave us the green light to drop the retail price to £349. Whether Sony raise their list price after launch day (meaning we would have to raise the retail price for new stock) is their prerogative.
Personally I believe Sony are losing money on the sales made by Clove and some of our competitors at this price, which is why their own direct price remains higher, albeit with special pre-order offers to sweeten the deal. To them though, getting the phone in people’s hands over the iPhone 6 may be more important in the long run. It’s possibly a sales volume / revenue risk assessment on their part. Whatever the reason, it makes for a great offer to consumers!
I can’t comment on Amazon’s price, my initial thought is that maybe they are buying directly from Sony international and not their UK distribution arm. That or they simply don’t care about the list price of one product in the grand scheme of things. Amazon aren’t exactly small after all…
I can 100% guarantee that the price of 349 is VAT inclusive and guaranteed until launch day. If you’re also interested in the noise cancelling headphones, our list price for those is £39.99, again significantly cheaper than Sony’s direct sale listing of £51. You can view them here in Black or White"
zomgbbqftw
Banned
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=93811861&postcount=15508
zomgbbqftw said:
From December.
The report has an incredible level of accuracy and the troubles of SMC have played out almost exactly as I said it would in that report.
ConfusingJazz
Member
It's almost as if some of us can read a balance sheet and have done research into it.
Not me though, I am not a financial analyst at a bank. That's zomg's business.
Aquamarine
Member
I don't think anybody would acquire them.
Sony's Gaming Division, Profit over the last 10 years:
Sony's Game Division, FY 2004 (April 2004 - March 2005)
729.8 billion JPY in sales
+43.2 billion JPY in profit (+$397.5 million)
Sony's Game Division, FY 2005 (April 2005 - March 2006)
958.6 billion JPY in sales
+8.7 billion JPY in profit (+$80.0 million)
Sony's Game Division, FY 2006 (April 2006 - March 2007)
1,016.8 billion JPY in sales
-232.3 billion JPY in profit (-$2137.2 million)
Sony's Game Division, FY 2007 (April 2007 - March 2008)
1,284.2 billion JPY in sales
-124.5 billion JPY in profit (-$1145.7 million)
Sony's Game Division, FY 2008 (April 2008 - March 2009)
1,053.1 billion JPY in sales
-58.5 billion JPY in profit (-$538.1 million)
Sony's NPS Division (includes PlayStation), FY 2009 (April 2009 - March 2010)
1,575.8 billion JPY in sales
-83.1 billion JPY in profit (-$764.7 million)
Sony's NPS Division (includes PlayStation), FY 2010 (April 2010 - March 2011)
1,579.3 billion JPY in sales
+35.6 billion JPY in profit (+$327.5 million)
Sony's Game Division, FY 2011 (April 2011 - March 2012)
805.0 billion JPY in sales
+29.3 billion JPY in profit (+$269.5 million)
Sony's Game Division, FY 2012 (April 2012 - March 2013)
707.1 billion JPY in sales
+1.7 billion JPY in profit (+$15.6 million)
Sony's Game Division, FY 2013 (April 2013 - March 2014)
979.2 billion JPY in sales
-8.1 billion JPY in profit (-$74.5 million)
+$397.5 million
+$80.0 million
-$2137.2 million
-$1145.7 million
-$538.1 million
-$764.7 million (includes non-PlayStation segments)
+$327.5 milion (includes non-PlayStation segments)
+$269.5 million
+$15.6 million
-$74.5 million
= -$3570.1 million operating loss over the past 10 years
Who would want to buy a division that's lost their parent company $3.57 billion dollars over the past 10 years?
It's just too risky of a venture. When Sony dies, PlayStation dies with them.
Indeed. There needs to be new, competent leadership.
Playstation does at least have brand awareness, but otherwise I agree that it is, at this point, a bloated behemoth which only exists as long as the wheels keep turning. If those wheels ever stop (if, for instance, Sony itself stops), I doubt anyone is going to bother lurching it back in to motion.
However, Sony is not in imminent danger of going under. Those who have PS4 really should not be worried at all. PS6? Well, maybe, but anyone who ever claims to see that far ahead is lying.
However, Sony is not in imminent danger of going under. Those who have PS4 really should not be worried at all. PS6? Well, maybe, but anyone who ever claims to see that far ahead is lying.
Aquamarine
Member
What?
Katsumi Ihara is the mastermind behind the Financial Services Division.
You know...the one with the 170 billion JPY profit...
What?
Katsumi Ihara is the mastermind behind the Financial Services Division.
You know, this division...the one with the 170 billion JPY profits?
Yeah, I just realized my mistake, & edited it out. I didn't read it carefully.
I probably wouldn't care by then should PS6 exist; I'm already 32 years old.
It would probably be a digital only console, anyways.
FonkyByNature
Member
Other than innovating in super cheap prices, the Chinese market has rarely if ever, innovated.
neogaffer1
Banned
Lots of times. Mostly before the Ericsson split. Verizon was at one point the carrier they were closest to.
Limshowron
Banned
Sonys business strategy doesn't make sense to me. For one, It should be clear at this point that their brand "power" can not carry them through everything. To be frank, this didn't work years ago either.
One thing that seems strange to me is that they seem to think that undercutting a competitor is a sin or involves serious risk. I don't understand how a management team at any company could think a good business strategy is to continue to sell certain brands at a slightly higher price than everyone else. I am not even sure if such a strategy has even worked outside of Apple.
They have been swirling into this financial drain for nearly 2 decades. A restructuring, or a cleansing if you will, is in order. I would be severely worried if I was an investor, and would do all that is possible drop out.
One thing that seems strange to me is that they seem to think that undercutting a competitor is a sin or involves serious risk. I don't understand how a management team at any company could think a good business strategy is to continue to sell certain brands at a slightly higher price than everyone else. I am not even sure if such a strategy has even worked outside of Apple.
They have been swirling into this financial drain for nearly 2 decades. A restructuring, or a cleansing if you will, is in order. I would be severely worried if I was an investor, and would do all that is possible drop out.
zomgbbqftw
Banned
SNE down 11% over the last couple of days too. Investors realising that Kaz is too weak to deliver the necessary reforms that Sony needs to be successful.
But what exactly do Sony bring to the market? They make Android phones, same as everyone else. They have smart design and good build quality but so do the flagships from everyone else. They leverage their ecosystem, but besides PSN, most of their services are completely irrelevant to the market at large.
They capitalised on Microsoft's missteps in gaming because it's a two horse race and they picked up the floaters by default. There's no equivalence in mobile. It's a ten horse race and every possible niche is saturated with options. They have no unique strengths to bring to the table and no amount of confident chest beating is going to push their reskinned Android slabs over anyone else's reskinned Android slabs.
Dr. Feel Good
Banned
Sony Pictures
Limshowron
Banned
Xperia Play
IMO the best line up they had was
Xperia S
Xperia P
Xperia U
You could tell at a glance which one was the best model. Not to mention the P and U were both actually really good phones, with decent specs are (for the U) a really good price.
Surely a High end, proper midranger and a non-awful low range phone covers most people's needs?
Xperia S
Xperia P
Xperia U
You could tell at a glance which one was the best model. Not to mention the P and U were both actually really good phones, with decent specs are (for the U) a really good price.
Surely a High end, proper midranger and a non-awful low range phone covers most people's needs?
True, though Microsoft capitalized on Sony's missteps last generation, after Sony had been successful for two generations in a row with PS1 & PS2.
They legitimately have an arguably better designed phone than any other Android phone with the best battery (again, this matters most to consumers along with design/ease of use/experience). It wouldn't be hard from the them to sell the fact that they do. People would care about this and want it. If they were on most of the carriers, with the growth of the PS4 in the US, people would notice cool things like PS4 remote play that just work and that would automatically put it a leg up.
Right now they just are trying to position themselves in a place to succeed when this entire time, they've had the skills and past historical knowledge to leverage their strengths and react to the market properly.
Yes Motorola does some great things, but they also only release a few devices at this point. Hopefully they start trickling down Moto's good ideas to other devices ... and hopefully they keep Moto's designers intact and producing innovative products.
Their IBM based laptops continue to be great ... but what innovations have they brought to them? They're just iterations of the originals. Their bright spot is the Yoga though, I'll give them that.
Lenovo makes some great products, but it's mostly based on devices they purchased. Beyond the Yoga, there isn't much to show innovation. That isn't to say they are incapable of it ... but that's why I said we should wait and see. And that's talking about Lenovo, arguably a standout. Looking at most other handset makers ... I'm not seeing much in the way of innovation.
Design and battery are features people care about but hardly the basis of cornering off a sizeable segment of the smartphone market. They need something sexy to go along with that because nobody buys a phone just because of a great battery.
And Remote Play... Do people really want to play their PS4 via cellular data with touch screen controls?
I don't think you understand how they are marketing remote play for the PS4. Also, the remote play feature is what one of the major distinctions vs other big android phones. Same with it having the highest waterproof rating out of any flagship smartphone...like ever.
Applying your same logic, why do people buy G3s. M8s, and S5s?
As some have said, Sony makes a nice phone, but it's not winning anyone over. Hard to find a reason to buy an Experia over other hign end android phones. People either want something cutting edge or a great off contract value Sony has neither.
How can they keep posting these losses? Between their tv division, pc sell off, Walkman, downward physical media sales, and mobile, I'm not sure how they're going to survive on ps4 money.
How can they keep posting these losses? Between their tv division, pc sell off, Walkman, downward physical media sales, and mobile, I'm not sure how they're going to survive on ps4 money.
hipbabboom
Huh? What did I say? Did I screw up again? :(
Hey... you local to the Culver City area?
Family is from there
It seems like that would be a transferable and valuable experience for you if the work you'll be doing is industry specific. They're still one of the biggest names in that game right? I'm not sure these results are going to be felt in that sector by any significant margin.
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