International marketing research

Sony Ericsson

1 International Marketing Research

THE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT, LUCKNOW

INTERNATIONAL MARKETING RESEARCH

International Marketing Research

And

Sony Ericsson

Submitted To :

Prof. Yash Shridhar

Submitted By :

Surabhi Agarwal

PG/FW/10-12

Sony Ericsson

2 International Marketing Research

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to dedicate this project to Prof. Yash Shridhar, who has provided me with

valuable Guidance to undertake a particular exposure to the corporate world and provided

Invaluable help during the completion of this project.

This has been a tremendous learning experience for Me and I’m privileged to be associated

with such a reputed institute.

Sony Ericsson

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CONTENTS

S.No TITLE Page No

1 Executive Summary 4

2 Sony 5

3 Ericsson 6

4 Sony Ericsson 7

5 IMR 12

6 Business Results 17

7 Bibliography 19

Sony Ericsson

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Executive Summary

Communication technology is positively changing the way we work and live. As a leading

provider of communications infrastructure, services and multimedia solutions, Ericsson

strives to enable this change.

Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB (in the process of changing its name to Sony

Mobile Communications AB) is a multinational mobile phone manufacturing company

headquartered in London, United Kingdom and a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony

Corporation. It was founded on October 1, 2001 as a joint venture between Sony and the

Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson. Sony acquired Ericsson's share in the

venture on February 16th, 2012.

Sony Mobile Communications has research and development facilities in Lund, Sweden;

Tokyo, Japan; Beijing, China and Silicon Valley, United States. In 2009, it was the fourth-

largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world (after Nokia, Samsung and LG). By 2010, its

market share had fallen to sixth place.

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Sony Corporation (ソニー株式会社 Sonī Kabushiki Gaisha?) (TYO: 6758, NYSE: SNE),

commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation

headquartered in Kōnan, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It ranked 73 on the 2011 list of Fortune

Global 500. Sony is one of the leading manufacturers of electronics products for the

consumer and professional markets.

Sony Corporation is the electronics business unit and the parent company of the Sony Group,

which is engaged in business through its six operating segments – Consumer Products &

Services Group (consumer electronics, game & network services), Professional, Device &

Solutions Group (B2B products & services), Pictures, Music, Financial Services and Sony

Ericsson. These make Sony one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the

world. Sony's principal business operations include Sony Corporation (Sony Electronics in

the U.S.), Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Music

Entertainment, Sony Mobile Communications (formerly Sony Ericsson), and Sony Financial.

As a semiconductor maker, Sony is among the Worldwide Top 20 Semiconductor Sales

Leaders.

The Sony Group (ソニー・グループ Sonī Gurūpu?) is a Japan-based corporate

group primarily focused on the Electronics (such as AV/IT products & components), Game

(such as PlayStation), Entertainment (such as motion pictures and music), and Financial

Services (such as insurance and banking) sectors. The group consists of Sony Corporation

(holding & electronics), Sony Computer Entertainment (game),Sony Pictures

Entertainment (motion pictures), Sony Music Entertainment (music), Sony Financial

Holdings (financial services) and others.

Its founders Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka derived the name from sonus, the Latin word for

sound, and also from the English slang word "sonny", since they considered themselves to be

"sonny boys", a loan word into Japanese which in the early 1950s connoted smart and

presentable young men.

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Ericsson (Telefonaktiebolaget L. M. Ericsson) (OMX: ERIC B, NASDAQ: ERIC), one of

Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication

systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile

networks. Ericsson is currently the world's largest mobile telecommunications equipment

vendor with a market share of 35%.

Directly and through subsidiaries, Ericsson also has a major role in mobile devices and cable

TV and IPTV systems. Ericsson was also the inventor of Bluetooth.

Founded in 1876 as a telegraph equipment repair shop by Lars Magnus Ericsson, it was

incorporated on August 18, 1918. Headquartered inKista, Stockholm Municipality, since

2003, Ericsson is considered part of the so-called "Wireless Valley". Since the mid-1990s,

Ericsson's extensive presence in Stockholm has helped transform the city into one of Europe's

hubs of information technology (IT) research. Ericsson has offices and operations in more

than 180 countries, with more than 17,700 staff in Sweden, and also significant presences in,

for example, Brazil, China, Finland, India, Ireland, Italy, Hungary, the UK and the US.

In the early 20th century, Ericsson dominated the world market for manual telephone

exchanges but was late to introduce automatic equipment. The world's largest ever manual

telephone exchange, serving 60,000 lines, was installed by Ericsson in Moscow in 1916.

Throughout the 1990s, Ericsson held a 35–40% market share of installed cellular

telephone systems. Like most of the telecommunications industry, Ericsson suffered heavy

losses after the telecommunications crash in the early 2000s, and had to lay off tens of

thousands of staff worldwide in an attempt to manage the financial situation, returning to

profit by the mid-2000s.

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Origins

In the United States, Ericsson partnered with General Electric in the early nineties, primarily

to establish a US presence and brand recognition.

Ericsson had decided to obtain chips for its phones from a single source—a Philips facility

in New Mexico. In March 2000, a fire at the Philips factory contaminated the sterile facility.

Philips assured Ericsson and Nokia (their other major customer) that production would be

delayed for no more than a week. When it became clear that production would actually be

compromised for months, Ericsson was faced with a serious shortage. Nokia had already

begun to obtain parts from alternative sources, but Ericsson's position was much worse as

production of current models and the launch of new ones was held up.

Ericsson, which had been in the mobile phone market for decades, and was the world's third

largest cellular telephone handset maker, was struggling with huge losses. This was mainly

due to this fire and its inability to produce cheaper phones like Nokia. To curtail the losses, it

considered outsourcing production to Asian companies that could produce the handsets for

lower costs.

Speculation began about a possible sale by Ericsson of its mobile phone division, but the

company's president said it had no plans to do so. "Mobile phones are really a core business

for Ericsson. We wouldn't be as successful (in networks) if we didn't have phones", he said.

Sony was a marginal player in the worldwide mobile phone market with a share of less than 1

percent in 2000. By August 2001, the two companies had finalised the terms of the merger

announced in April. The company was to have an initial workforce of 3,500 employees.

Sony Ericsson

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Annual net income or loss 2003 to 2009

Following the creation of the joint venture, Ericsson's market share actually fell, and in

August 2002, Ericsson announced that it would cease making mobile phones and end its

partnership with Sony if the business continued to disappoint. However, in January 2003,

both companies said they would inject more money into the joint venture in a bid to stem the

losses.

Sony Ericsson's strategy was to release new models capable of digital photography as well as

other multimedia capabilities such as downloading and viewing video clips and personal

information management capabilities. To this end, it released several new models which had

built-in digital camera and colour screen which were novelties at that time. The joint venture,

however, continued to make bigger losses in spite of booming sales. The target date for

making a profit from its first year to 2002 was postponed to 2003 to second half of 2003. It

failed in its mission of becoming the top seller of multimedia handsets and was in fifth-place

and struggling in 2005.

On March 1, 2005, Sony Ericsson introduced the K750i with a 2 megapixel camera, as well

as its platform mate, the W800i, the first of the Walkman phones capable of 30 hours of

music playback, and two low-end phones.

In 2007 the company's first 5-Megapixel camera phone, the Sony Ericsson K850i, was

announced followed in 2008 by the Sony Ericsson C905, the world's first 8-Megapixel

phone.] At Mobile World Congress 2009, Sony Ericsson unveiled the first 12-Megapixel

phone, named Satio, on May 28, 2009.

On May 1, 2005, Sony Ericsson agreed to become the global title sponsor for the WTA

Tour in a deal worth $88 million US dollars over 6 years. The women's pro tennis circuit was

renamed the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. Just over a month later on June 7, it announced

sponsorship of West Indian batsmen Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan. In October 2005,

Sony Ericsson presented the first mobile phone based on UIQ 3, the P990.

On January 2, 2007, Sony Ericsson announced in Stockholm that it would have some of its

mobile phones made in India, and that its two outsourcing

partners, Flextronics and Foxconn would manufacture ten million mobile phones per year by

2009. CEO Miles Flint announced at a press conference held with India's communications

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minister Dayanidhi Maran in Chennai that India was one of the fastest growing markets in the

world and a priority market for Sony Ericsson with 105 million users of GSM mobile

telephones.

Sony Ericsson struggled following the launch of Apple's iPhone in the third quarter of 2007.

Its handset shipments fell from a high of 30.8m in Q4 2007 to only 8.1m in Q1 2011. The

company had made net losses in six of the 15 quarters and seen its cash reserves shrink from

€2.2bn to €599m, after taking a €375m cash injection from its joint owners. The eclipse of

the Symbian operating system, initially by Apple's iPhone, and then by Google's Android, has

affected Sony Ericsson's position in the market.

Sony Ericsson was overtaken by its South Korean rival LG Electronics in Q1 2008. Sony

Ericsson's company's profits fell significantly by 43% to €133 million (approx.

US$180 million), sales falling by 8% and market share falling from 9.4% to 7.9%, despite

favourable conditions that the handset market was expected to grow by 10% in 2008. Sony

Ericsson announced another profit warning in June 2008 and saw net profit crash by 97% in

Q2 2008, announcing that it would cut 2,000 jobs, leading to wide fear that Sony Ericsson is

on the verge of decline along with its struggling rival, Motorola. In Q3 the profits were much

on the same level, however November and December saw increased profits along with new

models being released such as the C905 being one of the top sellers across the United

Kingdom.

In June 2008, Sony Ericsson had about 8,200 employees, it then launched a cost-cutting

program and by the end of 2009 it had slashed its global workforce by around 5,000 people.

It planned to cut another 1,500 jobs in 2010. It has also closed R&D centres inChadwick

House, Birchwood (Warrington) in the UK; Miami, Seattle, San Diego and RTP (Raleigh,

NC) in the USA; The Chennai Unit (Tamil Nadu) in India; Hässleholm and Kista in Sweden

and operations in the Netherlands. The UIQ centres in London and Budapest were also

closed, UIQwas a joint venture with Motorola which began life in the 1990s.

2010 to present

On October 27, 2011, Sony announced that it would acquire Ericsson's stake in Sony

Ericsson for €1.05 billion ($1.47 billion), making the mobile handset business a wholly

owned subsidiary of Sony. The transaction's completion was expected to occur in January

2012. At their keynote at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, Sony's Kaz Hirai announced

that Sony Ericsson would be known simply as Sony Mobile Communications pending

completion of the transaction. On January 26th, 2012 The European Union approved the

buyout. On February 16th, 2012 Sony announced it had completed the full acquisition of

Sony Ericsson.

Operations

In 2009 Sony Ericsson announced that it was moving its North American headquarters

from Research Triangle Park, North Carolina to Atlanta. The headquarters move was part of a

plan to reduce its workforce, then 10,000 employees, by 20%. As of that year Sony Ericsson

had 425 employees in Research Triangle Park; the staff had been reduced by hundreds due to

layoffs.[29]

Stacy Doster, a spokesperson of Sony Ericsson, said that the proximity

to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport's flights to Latin America and the

operations of AT&T Mobility influenced the decision to move the USA headquarters. Sony

Ericsson will close the Research Triangle site.

Current

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Sony currently concentrates on the categories of: business (web and email), design and all-

rounder phones. Its two current categories are:

The BRAVIA-branded line of phones, launched 2007 in the Japanese market only.

Until now, five BRAVIA branded phones have been produced. Sony Ericsson

(FOMA SO903iTV, FOMA SO906i, U1, S004, and S005) uses the BRAVIA brand.

BRAVIA branded phone are able to show 1seg terrestrial television.

The XPERIA range of mobile phones, heralded by the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 in

February 2008 at the Mobile World Congress (formerly 3GSM) held in Barcelona Spain,

was the first trademark promoted by Sony Ericsson as its own and is designated to

provide technological convergence among its target user base. The first model, X1,

carried the Windows Mobile operating system with a Sony Ericsson's panel interface.

The Xperia X10 model features the Android operating system. Additionally, Yahoo!

News reported that Sony would align with Google to run Android on its upcoming

Smartphone.

Former

Sony Mobile's former categories (as of 2012) are:

The Walkman-branded W series music phones, launched in 2005.

The Sony Ericsson W-series music phones are notable for being the first music-centric

series mobile phones, prompting a new market segment for portable music that was

developing at the time. The main feature that can be seen in all of these Walkman phones

is they all have a 'W' button, which when pressed opens the media centre. Sony Ericsson's

Walkman phones have formerly been commercially endorsed by pop stars Christina

Aguilera and Jason Kay across Europe. Walkman branded phones are also produced for

the Japanese market.

The Cyber-shot-branded line of phones, launched in 2006 in newer models of the K

series phones.

This range of phones are focused on the quality of the camera included with the phone.

Cyber-shot phones always include a flash, some with a xenon flash, and also include

auto-focus cameras. Sony Ericsson kicked off its global marketing campaign for Cyber-

shot phone with the launch of 'Never Miss a Shot'. The campaign featured top female

tennis players Ana Ivanović and Daniela Hantuchová. On February 10, 2008, the series

has been expanded with the announcement of C702, C902 and C905 phones. Cyber-shot

branded phones are also produced for the Japanese market.

The UIQ Smartphone range of mobiles, introduced with the P series in 2003 with the

introduction of P800.

They are notable for their touchscreens, QWERTY keypads (on most models), and use of

the UIQ interface platform for Symbian OS. This range has since expanded into the M

series and G series phones.

The GreenHeart range of mobile phones, first introduced in 2009, heralded by the Sony

Ericsson J105i Naite and C901 GreenHeart.

It is focused on an environmentally friendly theme, but still featured with recent mobile

technology and multimedia capability. It mainly uses eco-friendly materials and features

eco-apps.

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Marketing campaigns

Social media

During 2010, in 11 months, Sony Ericsson's Facebook fan count rose from 300,000 to

3.9 million to become the 40th-largest brand on the social networking site. The company

aims to capitalise on this fanbase and increase engagement by profiling these fans and

matching them to dedicated content. It will also analyse the top commenters on the Facebook

page and ensure engagement through special content and offering these fans the chance to

visit Sony Ericsson offices.

Sports sponsorship

As of 2011, Sony Ericsson sponsors the UEFA Champions League and the Sony Ericsson

Open tennis tournament in Miami. According to the head of global marketing partnerships,

Stephan Croix, ―our sport sponsorships allow us to promote our phones in a subtle and

authentic way to our fanbase. Our promise to fans is to enrich their experience during the

game but also before and after.

Environmental record

Sony Ericsson ranks 6th out of 15 leading electronics makers in Greenpeace’s Guide to

Greener Electronics that assesses companies' policies on climate and energy, sustainability

and how green their products are. The company scores 4.2/10 and is one of the top scorers in

the Products category, gaining maximum points for the energy efficiency of its phones and

doing well for its avoidance of hazardous substances in its products. Sony Ericsson is ahead

of many of its competitors in eliminating chemical substances in its products and is currently

finalising the phase out of antimony, beryllium, phthalates and the very small remaining use

of BFR

However, Greenpeace criticises Sony Ericsson for not having a plan to reduce its greenhouse

gas emissions through energy efficiency or more use of renewable energy. The guide also

states that the company still needs to report the amount of recycled plastic sourced as a

percentage of all plastics used

In June 2009, Sony Ericsson launched its first GreenHeart series device, the C901, which

indirectly emits a 15% less of CO2 during its fabrication and usage, compared to other SE

phones. It is also packed in a small box without paper manual, includes an eco-charger, and

its cover is made of recycled plastic.

Sony Ericsson

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International Marketing Research @ Sony Ericsson

ASE STUDY When Sony Ericsson launched, it faced a wide range of challenges. Four

years on, Stephen Palmer, examines the research behind its success

In October 2001 the joint venture of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications was formed; a

new brand in a very competitive and fast-evolving industry. Tracking the development of that

brand would be one of the key challenges of the new company. That meant understanding the

legacy of the parent companies, as well as measuring how successfully Sony Ericsson was

able to establish its own identity moving forward.

The senior management team recognised the need to engage with both employees and mobile

phone owners in order to generate a clear understanding of current movements in the

telecoms market, as well as of Sony Ericsson's brand image and its level of brand awareness.

In recent years, the mobile phone industry has been changing its focus: instead of selling

handsets to first-time buyers, the majority of sales are now repeat buyers with more

demanding requirements and higher expectations. In fact, the mobile phone replacement

market now accounts for more than 50 per cent of purchases globally (around 250 million

phones). Sony Ericsson needed market insight on how the renewal rate was evolving so that

market-sizing forecasts could be as accurate as possible.

In addition, with technology advancing alongside user sophistication, Sony Ericsson needed

to monitor customer perceptions of new mobile phone developments, such as imaging,

gaming and connectivity. To be successful, the brand needed to differentiate itself from other

competitors and own its territory.

Moreover, the company's international reach meant that it required consistent, credible and

meaningful indexes on a global, regional and local level. The information would feed into the

company's performance management systems and enable decisions to be made in a timely

manner with confidence.

Research objectives

Working with TNS, the overall objectives of the study were to:

• generate company-wide performance indicators for brand health and identify the strengths

and weaknesses of the Sony Ericsson brand in comparison to its competitors at global,

regional and local market levels;

• provide full visibility on market development and buying/renewal trends to facilitate market

forecasting; and

• monitor and review advertising effectiveness and changes in brand share over time to

inform future sales forecasting.

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In such a fast-moving industry, it was essential to provide Sony Ericsson management with

accurate and timely market and brand information to assess the development of the new

brand and those of its competitors. Markets needed to be monitored continuously and

findings made available quickly to enable strategic decisions to be made with confidence.

In order to understand the legacy of Sony Ericsson's parent companies, and to give full return

on investment made in the past, results also had to be compared against an earlier tracking

study. Furthermore, the study needed to incorporate easily and build on knowledge of Sony

Ericsson proprietary target groups.

While consistency of results across countries was essential if insightful comparisons were to

be made, this requirement needed to be balanced with that of best representing local markets.

To ensure maximum buy-in at all levels across the company, and to provide individual

markets with the most relevant data, TNS developed a flexible research programme able to

incorporate local market adaptations in the interview process or methodology. To further

facilitate the use of data across the company, information had to be easily and instantly

accessible for further analysis when necessary – by all relevant employees within Sony

Ericsson, regardless of physical location or time zone.

The project

Each month TNS interviews more than 3,500 consumers across fourteen countries to

represent the mobile phone industry globally and provide country-specific data in Sony

Ericsson's key markets. The main study focuses on non-rejecters of mobile phones – that is,

those who own a mobile, or who would consider acquiring one in the next 12 months.

However, given the need for mobile phone market-sizing data, TNS also collect demographic

information from mobile phone rejecters.

Telephone interviewing is the most cost-effective methodology in most countries. However,

in markets where telephone penetration is too low to enable a representative sample to be

reached, face-to-face interviewing is used. Random route-sampling specific to each country is

used to obtain a representative sample of the total population for the purpose of market-

sizing. In agreement with local Sony Ericsson offices, quotas are applied on the qualifying

sample to represent the non-rejecter population aged between 16 and 65.

Quality and reliability of data is of course paramount and stringent checks and controls are

applied at all stages. However, to maintain accuracy but minimise the time involved in data-

checking, a bespoke online editing tool, Webeditor, has been developed. Using this, local

agencies are able to submit data to a centrally maintained checking program that highlights

any issues. Only once the data has successfully passed this check is it forwarded to the central

team for processing.

To further reduce the lead-time from interviewing to reporting, TNS uses its analysis and

reporting platform, WebMiriad. As Stephen Palmer, managing consultant, TNS Telecoms,

who heads up the programme, explains: "WebMiriad enables the development of template

research reports that are tailored to local and regional markets. When new monthly data is

input, all reports are automatically updated with the most recent results, rather than requiring

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14 International Marketing Research

new reports to be created for each wave of research.

"This system means that local and regional reports can be accessed within one week

following the completion of fieldwork, allowing the project team to concentrate on the key

objective of good consultancy – interpreting what the numbers actually mean for the client."

While key personnel have access to data via WebMiriad, there is a wider need for reports to

be made available in PowerPoint for access by a larger audience. Again, the accuracy and

timing for these reports is critical and so an automated route was developed. Trend charts and

cross tabulations are exported from WebMiriad and bespoke programs re-format and create

reports. Analysis and summaries are added by the executive team, and nineteen reports are

made available to more than 100 users globally by the second week in each month. To

facilitate the dissemination of the reports, they are all posted on a web portal, TNSInfo.

Cecilia Guditz, senior manager, market research and intelligence at Sony Ericsson says, "In

order to make best use of the research across the company, it is critical that the data is

comparable at an international level and that it is delivered promptly and in a format which is

meaningful to all offices.

Guditz explains that platforms such as WebMiriad and TNSInfo provide the client with

considerable flexibility and control. "[These platforms] also allow us to specify levels of data

access for different groups across the organisation. New data reports can also be run by

members of the Sony Ericsson project team enabling trends data to be extracted simply and

quickly without the risk of changing fixed data inputs."

But delivery is not the end of the story. An added insight approach means that data analysis

and interpretation is more than just a presentation of the figures notes Guditz. "TNS clearly

communicates what the research findings mean for our business... which we can use to shape

strategy and policy moving forward."

With the inclusion of re-formatted back data from the Ericsson brand-tracking study, trends

for both competitors and the parent companies can be viewed back to the beginning of 1999.

They clearly show how the brand positioning has evolved and its impact on sales and

performance.

For Guditz, too, it was vital for Sony Ericsson to have a research partner with a comparable

international reach. "TNS's global network of offices ensures that the research team are

always on hand to create new reports and investigate emerging market trends. When required,

bespoke research reports can be created and interpreted within 24 hours for client and board

presentations using the very latest market data. Preparing such detailed, up-to-the-hour

reports would not be possible without either such a committed TNS team or the use of

advanced marketing information systems like WebMiriad."

Evaluation and summary

Timed to coincide with the launch of the Sony Ericsson brand, the Consumer Market Tracker

(CMT) project has allowed the company to follow the development of the new brand from its

inception. The research findings have been well communicated and are now used by all parts

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of the organisation (see box). This widespread acceptance and use of the findings in itself

shows the strength of the programme, which TNS has now been running for three years.

Beyond that, however, the TNS research has also been used to inform major strategic

decisions.

In 2002, for example, Sony Ericsson decided to take ownership of the imaging area. Today it

is a market leader. Guided by the research, marketing communications activity for the

promotion of the T610 handset focused specifically on imaging with excellent results. Strong

sales of the phone helped to boost the brand's position within this new field, and Sony

Ericsson also received an award for the Best Wireless Handset at the recent 3GSM World

Congress.

The reason for the success of such a centralised project in a decentralised and regionalised

organisation is certainly a consequence of the flexibility built into the CMT programme,

which allows inclusion of local issues.

The final word goes to Riccardo Brenna, head of research and intelligence at Sony Ericsson.

"CMT has proven to be a very efficient and complete tool to evaluate our performance in

different parts of the world. The research design is also flexible enough to make its roll-out

quite easy and to answer to local knowledge needs. CMT is helping us to have a global view

of our business and, at the same time, to look at the local specific issues. The objective for the

future will be to make it even more actionable and focused on supporting our business

development."

Research into action

The impact that the research programme has had on Sony Ericsson's business from market

unit level through to senior management is evident in the way that the results have been used.

• The results are used for annual target setting within the company

• The results are used in customer presentations, boards meetings and employee meetings to

show the development of the brand. At a recent congress in Cannes, more than 50

presentations to key customers demonstrated the strength of the brand using results of the

CMT study.

• The results of advertising campaigns around the world are measured through the study – as

with, for example, the performance of both the print and TV campaigns for the T68i model.

• The continuous research findings play an important role in forecasting. The information

gathered on the replacement market, in particular, is used as an early warning system to allow

confidence in forecasting market volumes.

• Correspondence analysis and key-driver analysis have been used to understand more about

the brand image and reasons for purchase of the main brands in the market.

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Business Results

Regional development

The regions are the Company’s primary sales channels. As of January 1, 2010, Ericsson has

changed its geographical reporting. Instead of the five geographical areas reported in

previous years, ten regions are reported, mirroring the new internal geographical

organization.

SALES PER REGION AND SEGMENT 2010

North America

Sales was positively impacted by the acquired Nortel businesses and negatively affected by

the strong SEK. Ericsson became the largest player in the region, driven by organic growth as

well as acquisitions. The main growth drivers were the managed services agreement with

Sprint, data traffic driven network expansions and the initial build out of LTE networks.

Ericsson is a leading supplier of WCD MA/CD MA and LTE to Verizon, AT &T and

MetroPC S. MetroPC S and Verizon commercially launched their LTE networks in 2010.

North America is Ericsson’s largest market measured in sales and its second largest after

Sweden measured in number of employees.

Sprint announced Ericsson as key partner in their network evolution strategy ―Network

vision‖ program.

Latin AmErica

The region was characterized by major mergers between regional operators. Lower cost

smartphones have created continuous growth in mobile broadband usage, driving operators to

invest in networks and services. The services business developed favorably, especially

managed services. LTE trials are

ongoing in the region.

The world’s first solution to connect public buses to mobile broadband was provided by

Dataprom and Ericsson in Brazil. Ericsson was also selected to manage Telefonica’s network

operation center in São Paulo with core,

transmission and fixed-access equipment.

Northern Europe and Central Asia

In the eastern part of the region, both 2G expansions and mobile broadband build outs are

taking place. In Scandinavia, focus is on 4G/LTE deployments. 4G/LTE trials are planned or

ongoing across the region. Operators have operational efficiency high on the agenda, which

creates good demand for managed services.

Denmark’s leading operator TDC is about to upgrade to 4G/LTE and has chosen Ericsson to

supply and manage its nationwide network. Ericsson was also chosen to provide the

broadband access network based on VDSL2 technology to TeliaSonera.

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Western and Central Europe

Mobile broadband usage continues to increase in the region. Following conclusions of

auctions for 4G/LTE in several markets, Ericsson has been selected for a number of 4G/LTE

trials now being implemented with major

operators. Ericsson is also supporting operators in connection with data capacity and

modernization projects. Operators’ focus on efficiency continued to drive strong interest for

managed services, network sharing and network transformation leading to opportunities in

both services and networks. The UK is at the forefront

of network sharing. Ericsson has completed the consolidation of shared sites (over 12,000)

for Mobile Broadband Network Ltd (MBNL). Ericsson also extended the managed services

business through extensions of existing contracts. This includes a three-year extension with

Netia Poland, as well as a renewed and expanded multi-country managed services contract

with TeliaSonera International Carrier for field operation services for voice and data

networks, built on multivendor equipment. Ericsson also signed a five-year managed field

service contract for Vodafone in Germany.

Mediterranean

Operator investments especially in Spain and Greece were cautious due to the overall

economic environment and price competition among operators. In order to meet demand for

mobile broadband services, operators continued to focus on network modernization.

Operational efficiency continues to be high on

the agenda, creating good momentum for managed services and consulting in networks as

well as in all ICT areas.

Ericsson signed a seven-year managed services contract with 3 Italia for data center

consolidation and modernization of IT infrastructure. The largest utility company in Spain,

Endesa, selected Ericsson to operate its

corporate telecommunication network.

Middle East

The sales drop was caused by cautious operator investments in parts of the region.

Development in the region showed large variations where the Gulf countries continued to

show good momentum, while most other parts of

the region were slow. Services continues to be a large part of the business, representing 43

percent of total sales. Operators are starting to show interest in 4G/LTE with several trials

going on throughout the region. Mobile subscriptions in the region are developing positively

with net additions for both voice and

broadband services.

To offer innovative services to its customers, the Qtel Group chose Ericsson’s Service

Delivery Platform. Its customers across the Middle East, North Africa and South East Asia

get access to new multimedia services such as social networking and mobile music.

Sub-Saharan Africa

The region was impacted by the global economic downturn with a tight credit environment as

well as operator consolidation. The region is predominately a market where 2G rollouts are in

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18 International Marketing Research

focus. However, demand for mobile broadband is emerging throughout the region, although

at a low pace. Services sales increased

and now represents 50 percent of total sales.

India

India sales were impacted by 3G auctions and security clearance in the first half of the year.

In the middle of the year, Ericsson got security clearance for deliveries of equipment. In the

fall, contracts for 3G deployments were signed. Ericsson has a market share for 3G which is

in line with its 2G position. Throughout the year, the recurring services business maintained

good development. Radius Infratel signed a fiber-to-the-home contract with Ericsson,

providing more than half a million subscribers with fixed broadband.

China and North-East Asia

While operators on mainland China are still focused on successful 3G launches,operators

across the region also now have 4G/LTE on the agenda. In Japan, demand for mobile

broadband had a positive effect on sales.

Ericsson won a managed services contract with China Unicom for field maintenance of radio

base station sites, fixed network and transmission as well as a contract with China Mobile for

field maintenance of radio base station sites.

Leading Japanese operator SoftBank Mobile invested in capacity by upgrading its HSPA

radio access network with Ericsson’s RBS 6000. Increased use of smartphones and advanced

mobile applications boost data traffic and in order to ensure continued user quality,

EMOBILE has enhanced its network with 3G/HSPA

42 Mbps supplied by Ericsson. On June 30, the acquisition of Nortel’s part of LG-Nortel was

completed.

This positions Ericsson as a leading vendor in Korea. Another milestone was the showcase of

the first complete TD-LTE solution with end-to-end-capabilities, together with ST-Ericsson

in China.

South-East Asia and Oceania

Sales of network equipment were weaker overall due to cautious investment in a number of

markets. Investment highlights include network expansions in Bangladesh and Indonesia.

Access to spectrum for 3G and 4G/LTE remains a limitation in several markets. Overall there

is an increasing interest for managed services among operators in several countries.

The region includes a mix of markets focused on long-term government sponsored fiber

deployments as well as operator investment in 3G/HSPA upgrades and 4G/LTE trials. Other

markets in the region are continuing to expand in 2G and mobile broadband.

Indonesian GSM and 3G operator AXIS extended its managed services contract with

Ericsson. Ericsson will be responsible for AXIS’ network operations, field maintenance,

support services and spare parts management in Greater Jakarta and Northern Sumatra.

Indosat has commissioned Ericsson to modernize its network and launched Asia’s fastest

mobile network, based on Ericsson’s 3G.

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19 International Marketing Research

Bibliography

Sony Ericsson Annual report

Websites-

www.wikipedia.com

www.google.com