Sony Project

INTRODUCTION

India, A vibrant mix of different ethnic groups and cultures overflowing with its own unique

energy. Sony has built a highly favourable brand image in India, which continues to see

remarkable economic growth, and is working to enhance its presence. This special feature

looks at Sony in India from a variety of perspectives, including the strength of Sony’s

electronics business in the country, its local entertainment business initiatives and its growing

role as a centre for software development.

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As India is geographically large, it is critical to operate in the most suitable way that fits each

city and region. Sony classifies the Indian market into three categories, ranging from small

cities to large metropolitan areas. Sony has 19 sales branches cover a total of 450 cities. To

ensure their customers can use Sony products without concern, they have also developed a

network of 250 service centres across the country. As transport can be difficult due to the

state of many roads and taxes on interstate sales, they have established 30 warehouses

nationwide, ensuring their ability to manage their supply chain effectively. Building on this

robust operational structure, they are accelerating efforts to expand their marketing activities

beyond their traditional customer base—India’s 40 million affluent citizens—in an assertive

bid to attract consumers in the country’s middle class, which is expected to see further growth

in the years ahead.

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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Different Companies/brands are available in the consumer durable market to customers like

Sony, Samsung, LG, Philips, Panasonic etc. Sony is the leading brand name in the consumer

durable market. What different strategies adopted by Sony to operate in India and what type

of competitions is in the current market of Sony as well as other competitors of Sony? Hence

the concerned project is undertaken:-

To analyze current scenario of Sony in Indian market.

To find out the strength and weakness of competitors.

To analyze future strategy of Sony in India.

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HISTORY OF SONY

Masaru Ibuka , the co-founder of Sony

Sony found its beginning in the wake of World War II. In 1946, Masaru Ibuka started an

electronics shop in a bomb-damaged department store building in Tokyo. The company had

$530 in capital and a total of eight employees. The next year, he was joined by his colleague,

Akio Morita, and they founded a company called Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo (Tokyo

Telecommunications Engineering Corporation). The company built Japan's first tape

recorder, called the Type-G. In 1958 the company name was changed to Sony.

In the early 1950s, Ibuka traveled in the United States and heard about Bell Labs' invention of

the transistor. He convinced Bell to license the transistor technology to his Japanese

company, for use in communications. Ibuka's company made the first commercially

successful transistor radios. According to Schiffer, Sony's TR-63 radio "cracked open the

U.S. market and launched the new industry of consumer microelectronics." By the mid-

1950s, American teens had begun buying portable transistor radios in huge numbers, helping

to propel the fledgling industry from an estimated 100,000 units in 1955 to 5 million units by

the end of 1968.

Sony co-founder Akio Morita founded Sony Corporation of America in 1960. In the process,

he was struck by the mobility of employees between American companies, which was

unheard of in Japan at that time. When he returned to Japan, he encouraged experienced,

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middle-aged employees of other companies to reevaluate their careers and consider joining

Sony. The company filled many positions in this manner, and inspired other Japanese

companies to do the same. Moreover, Sony played a major role in the development of Japan

as a powerful exporter during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. It also helped to significantly improve

American perceptions of "made in Japan" products. Known for its production quality, Sony

was able to charge above-market prices for its consumer electronics and resisted lowering

prices.

In 1971, Masaru Ibuka handed the position of president over to his co-founder Akio Morita.

Sony began a life insurance company in 1979, one of its many peripheral businesses. Amid a

global recession in the early 1980s, electronics sales dropped and the company was forced to

cut prices. Sony's profits fell sharply. "It's over for Sony," one analyst concluded. "The

company's best days are behind it." Around that time, Norio Ohga took up the role of

president. He encouraged the development of the Compact Disc in the 1970s and 80s, and of

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the PlayStation in the early 1990s. Ohga went on to purchase CBS Records in 1988 and

Columbia Pictures in 1989, greatly expanding Sony's media presence. Ohga would succeed

Morita as chief executive officer in 1989.

Sony Group Headquarters at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo

Under the vision of co-founder Akio Morita and his successors, the company had

aggressively expanded into new businesses. Part of its motivation for doing so was the

pursuit of "convergence," linking film, music, and digital electronics via the Internet. This

expansion proved unrewarding and unprofitable, threatening Sony's ability to charge a

premium on its products as well as its brand name. In 2005, Howard Stringer replaced

Nobuyuki Idei as chief executive officer, marking the first time that a foreigner has run a

major Japanese electronics firm. Stringer helped to reinvigorate the company's struggling

media businesses, encouraging blockbusters such as Spider-Man while cutting 9,000 jobs. He

hoped to sell off peripheral business and focus the company again on electronics.

Furthermore, he aimed to increase cooperation between business units, which he described as

"silos" operating in isolation from one another. In a bid to provide a unified brand for its

global operations, Sony introduced a slogan known as "make. believe" in 2009.

Despite some successes, the company faced continued struggles in the mid- to late-2000s. It

became known for its stagnancy, with a fading brand name. In 2012, Kazuo Hirai was

promoted to president and CEO, replacing Sir Howard Stringer. Shortly thereafter, Hirai

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outlined his company-wide initiative, named "One Sony" to revive Sony from years of

financial losses and bureaucratic management structure, which proved difficult for former

CEO Stringer to accomplish, partly due to differences in business culture and native

languages between Stringer and some of Sony's Japanese divisions and subsidiaries. Hirai

outlined 3 major areas of focus for Sony's electronics business, which include imaging

technology, gaming and mobile technology, as well as a +focus on reducing the major losses

from the television business.

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SONY IN INDIA

One of the most recognized brand names in the world today, Sony Corporation, Japan,

established its India operations in November 1994, focusing on the sales and marketing of

Sony products in the country. In a span of 16 years, Sony India has exemplified the quest for

excellence in the world of digital lifestyle becoming the country’s foremost consumer

electronics brand. With relentless commitment to quality, consistent dedication to customer

satisfaction and unparalleled standards of service, Sony India is recognized as a benchmark

for new age technology, superior quality, digital concepts and personalized service that has

ensured loyal customers and nationwide acclaim in the industry.

With brands names such as BRAVIA, VAIO, Tablet, Handycam®, Cyber-shot, Walkman®,

Xplod™, Sony hi-fi, Memory stick® and PlayStation®, Sony has established itself as a value

leader across its various product categories of Audio/Visual Entertainment products,

Information and Communications, Recording Media, Business and Professional products.

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Sony India is one of the most recognized consumer electronics brand in the country, with a

reputation for new age technology, digital concepts and excellent after sales service. In India,

Sony has its footprint across all major towns and cities in the country through a distribution

network comprising of over 10,400 dealers and distributors, 270 exclusive Sony outlets and

23 direct branch locations. Sony India also has a strong service presence across the country

with 255 service outlets. Manned by customer friendly and informed sales persons, Sony’s

exclusive stores ‘Sony Center’ are fast becoming the most visible face of the company in

India. A distinctive feature of Sony’s service is their highly motivated and well-trained staffs

that provide the kind of attentive and sensitive service that is rare today.

Sony is committed to ensuring that both the products and the marketing activities employed

truly make a difference to people’s lifestyles and offer them new dimensions of enjoyment.

Relentless commitment to quality, continuous dedication to customer satisfaction and

unparalleled standards of service is what differentiates us from countless competitors and

reflects a true image of all that is Sony

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COMPANY OUTLINE

COMPANY OUTLINE

Company: Sony India Pvt. Ltd.

Managing

Director:Mr. Kenichiro Hibi

Date of

Establishment:November 17, 1994

Location: A-31, Mohan Cooperative Industrial Estate, Mathura Road, New Delhi -

110044, India.

Staff Strength: 900

Share Capital: INR 554 Million

Share Holding: 100% subsidiary of Sony Corporation, Japan

Branch

Offices:

Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Jaipur,

Chandigarh, Lucknow, Pune, Ahmedabad, Indore, Cochin, Coimbatore,

Ghaziabad, Ranchi, Mangalore, Guwahati, Gurgaon, Bhubansehwar,

Vijaywada, Nagpur and Ludhiana (23 Direct Branch Locations)

Business

Activities:

Marketing, Sales and After-Sales Service of electronic products & software

exports Products: LCD Televisions, Video and Digital Still Cameras,

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Notebooks and Business Projectors, Personal Audio, Audio Video

Accessories, Hi-fi Audios and Home Theater systems, Car Audio and

Visual Systems, Game Consoles, Mobile Phones, Recording Media and

Energy Devices, Broadcast and Professional products.

MARKETING STRATEGY FOR INDIA: 2013-14

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Tadato Kimura, Head, Marketing, Sony India

Consumer electronics major Sony India has a firm footprint across India through a

distribution network comprising over 18,000 dealers and distributors. The company plans to

increase to increase this number to 20,000 in FY13. In an interview with Pitch, Tadato

Kimura, Head, Marketing, Sony India talks about the company’s marketing strategy and

plans of increasing its presence in non-metro markets, which contributes 50 per cent of its

total turnover. Excerpts:

What is your marketing strategy for 2013?

India is a key market for Sony and we will continue to make significant investments in

marketing and promotion this year. For FY13, Sony estimates its marketing spends close to

Rs 650 crore towards ATL and BTL activities, including outdoor, shop front, online and PR.

Our strategy this year is to continue focus on having an innovative product line-up,

competitive pricing of products, aggressive promotion and robust distribution network.

How much increase in revenues and growth do you expect this year as compared to last

year?

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Sony India clocked sales of Rs 8,007 crore in FY12, which is about 27 per cent increase from

the previous fiscal year. Sony is expecting similar growth rate in the next fiscal year as well.

From a mid-term perspective, Sony plans to treble its turnover to Rs 20,000 crore by 2015.

What is the market share of your products? How much do these products contribute to

the overall revenue?

Sony India has established its market leadership in Bravia and Cyber-shot. Contribution of

each category towards overall sales of Sony India in FY12 was: Bravia – 35 per cent, Vaio –

20 per cent, Xperia: 10-15 per cent, and Cyber-shot at 10 per cent.

How are you going to ramp up your presence in India?

We will continue to launch innovative and relevant products for Indian consumers, and

strengthen our distribution network. Sony has its footprint across all major towns and cities in

the country through a distribution network comprising over 18,000 dealers and distributors,

which we plan to increase to 20,000 in FY13. Sony India also has a strong service presence

across the country with 356 service outlets.

Tell us something about your latest ad campaign? Also, brief us a bit on your latest ad

campaign and which all mediums have you made use for these campaigns?

Our latest television commercial for Vaio aims to highlight the in-built sub-woofers of the

new Vaio series. After some research, we realised that users mostly complained about the

quality of sound in their laptops, and to redress this issue, Sony announced its new Vaio

series with enhanced listening experience. To bring out the sound proposition clearly in the

TVC, we tied-up with internationally acclaimed human beatboxer, Shlomo and his latest

vocal project ‘Shlomo and the Lip Factory’. As part of the campaign, we will also be rolling

out print and online ads, outdoor and shop-front enhancement and PR activities. Not only

this, we have initiated India’s first online ‘Beatboxing competition’, where contestants can

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share links of their beatboxing videos on Sony’s YouTube app and stand a chance to win a

Vaio laptop from the latest Sonic series.

How are you positioning yourself differently from your competitors? How are you

planning to increase your brand value?

We do not comment on competition’s offering. Sony commands a premium brand image in

India. Sony is not just a category player, but more of a brand player – Bravia in television,

Vaio in laptop, Cyber-shot in camera, and Xperia in smartphones. We’ll continue to being a

brand player and that will help Sony to sustain and increase its brand value.

Please tell us about your future product launches and product campaigns.

Sony remains focused on bringing truly differentiated device and experience offerings to

customers. Sony is constantly evolving as per customer needs and this year you will see a

new and interesting line-up of televisions, cameras, laptops and smartphones.

Is there any price rise on the cards?

We have not increased the price of our products yet, but the current rupee depreciation is a

cause of concern and brings us back to the drawing board.

What is the main focus of Sony for this year? How are you focusing on tier II and III

markets? How much do these markets contribute to the overall growth as compared to

other markets?

Tier II and III markets are emerging as lucrative opportunities for us, given the increasing

incomes and rising brand awareness among consumers in these markets. Sony is

strengthening its distribution channels and is increasing penetration to leverage the higher

consumer demand in these markets. Sony actively targets non-metro markets such as

Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Pune, Jaipur, Indore, Kochi and Bhubaneswar to name a few.

About 50 per cent of Sony’s business comes from these non-metro markets.

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MARKET SHARE OF SONY INDIA FOR FY-2011-12

Aims 30% growth in sales in FY12

• India to be 5th Largest Contributor to global sales by FY12

Category Performance

• BRAVIA is No.1 in Flat Panel Market with 18.8% share (In Qty.) in CY11(As per

Display Search)

• Cyber-shot is No.1 in Compact Digital Camera market with 34% share in FY11 (As

per Import Data)

• VAIO for the first time hit No.1 share of 20% in Q4, 2011 (As per IDC Report)

Plan in India

• Enhance existing distribution network from 10,400 in FY11 to 12,200 in FY12

• Boost after-sales service with 285 service touch points across India in FY12

• Allocate marketing budget of Rs. 450 crore in FY12

• Plan headcount increase by 500, to take the total no. to 3,800 in FY12

May 22, 2012, New Delhi: Sony India today announced its Sales achievement of Rs. 6,313

crore in FY11

BRAVIA, VAIO and Digital Imaging (Cyber-shot, Handycam, Alpha & Photo Frame) have

been the growth drivers of the business in India, contributing 35%, 20% and 15%,

respectively to the total sales in FY11.

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FY09 FY10 FY11

Rs. 3,694 crore Rs. 5,446 crore Rs. 6,313 crore

Time period FY10 FY11 FY12 (Est.)

India Global sales ranking (As Single Country) 8 6 5

PERFORMANCE OF EACH CATEGORY:

BRAVIA

Sony has been ruling the Indian market by continuously maintaining a very high market share

in the Flat Panel TV segment in India. As per Display Search, Sony India hit Number One

position with 18.8% share (In Qty) in FY11.

As per latest GFK Research Findings, BRAVIA is the top selling brand in all screen sizes

right from 22/26 inch up to 46/55 inch. As a matter of fact, Sony BRAVIA Internet TV has

been the favourite in India, garnering a whopping market share of 53% of Internet TV (with

Browser) Sales in CY11.

In FY10, Sony sold 8.3 lakh BRAVIA TVs, which went up to 9 lakh units by end of FY11.

Cyber-shot™

With Cyber-shot, Sony retains its No.1 position in Compact Digital Camera market with an

unbeatable market share of 34% (In Qty.) in FY11 (As per Import Data), which is much

ahead of the nearest competitor.

In FY11, Sony sold 11 lakh Cyber-shot cameras, which is expected to go up to 14 lakh units

by end of FY12.

Not only this, Handycam has approximately 90% share of the camcorder market, and Sony is

the only player to drive this market in India.

VAIO

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VAIO has been the dark horse of the Indian operation. Sony VAIO emerged as the market

leader in the consumer notebook market in the 4th Quarter of 2011 from Oct- Dec 2011

period, grabbing an overwhelming market share of 20% by volume, as per IDC (International

Data Corporation) research findings. Sony’s market share rose consistently in the past two

years, right from 6% in Quarter 1, 2010 to the current 20% in Quarter 4, 2011.

Sony VAIO outgrows the market almost thrice from CY10 to CY11. Market growth was

28.6% whereas VAIO grew at 84.8% rate.

In FY10, Sony sold 2.5 lakh notebooks, which went up to 5 lakh notebooks in FY11.

BRAND EQUITY

As per Customer Equity Tracking Study done by Nielsen in March 2012, Sony has been

ranked as the No. 1 brand that comes to consumer’s mind, when prompted with the word

‘General Electronics’.

Not only this, Sony obtained highest satisfaction scores with the biggest gap noted for Retail

Price Stability, from the competition. This is a result of our Dealer Satisfaction Study done by

Nielsen, where selected dealers were asked to give an overall satisfaction rating from a scale

of 1 to 10 for each company

BUSINESS STRATEGY

To strengthen its business operation, Sony India follows its core business strategy,

comprising of the following strong pillars:

•Sales Channel Expansion:

Sony has its footprint across all major towns and cities in the India through a very wide

distribution network. Currently Sony has 10,400 sales channels including brand shops,

national chain stores and distributors. Sony plans to aggressively increase the network to

12,200 channels by FY12.

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Service Operation Enhancement:

Customer Centricity is part of Sony’s DNA. Over the years, customer service has evolved

from just repairs to providing fast, flexible, affordable and comprehensive solutions to

customers. Sony currently has 255 conveniently located service touch-points, which it plans

to step-up to 285 by FY12

As per a survey done by Nielsen on Dealer Satisfaction, Sony has gained No. 1 position for

after sales support, which is a reflection of Sony’s excellent service quality provided to its

customer.

Aggressive Brand Promotion

Sony followed a strong brand promotion strategy and invested Rs. 360 crore in FY11. All the

brand campaigns were supported with extensive Above-the-line and Below-the-line activities,

including print and television commercial, Web, PR, cinema and shop-front. In FY12, Sony

plans to pump up an investment of Rs. 450 crore, which will be in sync with the business

growth.

Sony India has a very favourable presence over the digital domain as well and the website

(www.sony.co.in) is a ready reckoner for product information, retail outlets and help guide

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Time period FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 (Est.)

Service Network 4,400 6,300 10,400 12,200

Time period FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12 (Est.)

Service Network 214 234 255 285

Time period FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12

Investment Amt Rs. 250 crore Rs. 350 crore Rs. 360 crore Rs. 450 crore

and tutorials for product usage. It receives very heavy traffic throughout the year, with about

3 crore visit in FY11 alone. Sony’s Facebook page has more than 6.5 lakh fans and over 5

lakh channel views on youtube.

Local Talent Development

Developing local Indian talent is a very crucial element of Sony’s growth story in India. Sony

plans to increase its manpower by 500 employees in FY12, to match the growing business

requirement.

As per a survey conducted by Tower Watson across Sony Group companies, when compared

to other high technology companies in India, Sony India has the highest score based on

parameters such as Talent Management, Innovation, Collaboration, Empowerment,

Leadership, Values & Objectives etc

Sony India also has a very low attrition rate, which is again a testimony to the fact that

employees are comfortable with the work environment. While vacancies are quickly

replenished with fresh talent, Sony India works towards creating a strong career development

programme for existing employees which helps limit the attrition. This includes various Sony

University programmes that staff have the opportunity to participate in. Sony has also

facilitated Indian employees with international career opportunities to work in Sony Group

companies across the world.

Outlook for FY12

Sony plans to increase its sales turnover by 30% in FY12

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Time period FY09 FY10 FY11 FY12

Headcount 2,000 2,500 3,300 3,800

FY12 Marketing Calendar

Sony India’s brand campaigns for Cyber-shot (with Brand Ambassador Deepika Padukone)

and Handycam are currently on-air. They started from last week of April and will be visible

till end of May, 2012. VAIO campaign, with Brand Ambassador, Ms. Kareena Kapoor, is

expected to hit in June, 2012 followed by BRAVIA campaign in the month of August, 2012.

SONY INDIA MARKET SHARE

YEAR 2011-12

Sony India plans to become the top player in the digital still camera market in India with an

aim to capture 45% share during fiscal 2012, a top company official said. Sony India

witnessed a tremendous growth rate of 45% during financial year 2011,beating the industry

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Time period FY11 FY12 (Est)

Headcount Rs. 6,313 crore 30% over FY11

growth rate of 40%, Tadato Kimura, General Manager,Marketing Sony India told reporters.

Digital still cameras store photographs as digital bits on a memory card as opposed to the film

used in traditional cameras. Sony plans to sell 14 lakh units of these Cyber-shot units during

financial year 2012, over last year’s sales of 11 lakh units. The Digital Still Camera Segment

in India stood at 33 lakh units in las year and is expected to increase to 42 lakh units during

the current year, he said. As far as Kerala was concerned, Sony plans to sell 30,000 Cyber-

shot cameras, which is expected to go up to 40,000 units during the year, he said.

SONY MARKETING PLANS 2013-14

SMARTPHONE

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Sony is targeting the revenue contribution from its Xperia range of smart phones to equal flagship

television range Bravia by next year, he said. Bravia contributes about 35 percent to Sony India’s total

sales.

At present, Sony India has around 7.5 percent market share in terms of volume in the smartphone

category, and the company is selling around 1.5 lakh devices monthly on an average, Kimura added.

The company would continue to introduce new products in each price segment every month. Its

cheapest model is Xperia Tipo that comes for about Rs 7,000. The company, however, is

concentrating more on the premium segment (above Rs 30,000) and it enjoys around 13 percent

market share in the premium Smartphone category, he further said. The company, however, is not

looking to expand in the tablet segment since the market in India is mostly driven by low-cost

devices, and it does not have any products in that price range.

Strengthening its smartphone portfolio, Sony has announced the launch of the Xperia Z Ultra, with

6.4 inch display screen. Priced at Rs 46,990, it is targeted at affluent users in the mobile space. The

phone comes with a 2.2 GHz Quad Core processor. Sony also terms it as the slimmest full HD

smartphone.

SONY BRAVIA 4K TV

Electronics major Sony India plans to launch small screen Bravia brand TV sets with price

starting from Rs. 15,000 to tap demand in small cities and towns across the country. The

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company is expecting Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities to boost volume, while sales of high-end

products in the big metro markets will push its revenue margins. It is also targeting 20 per

cent increase in revenue this fiscal.

Sony Bravia today launched two new products in its high-end 4k technology series priced at

Rs. 3.04 lakh and Rs. 4.04 lakh, targeting customers in the metros. Bravia contributes 35 per

cent to Sony India sales, at present. Sony India, which imports 100 per cent of its products

from Malaysia, is aiming to sell 13 lakh television sets in the current fiscal as against 11 lakh

sold in previous financial year, an increase of 18 per cent. Sony India has also increased its

marketing budget by 66 per cent to Rs. 250 crore in 2013-14 from Rs. 150 crore a year ago.

At present, Sony India is the fourth largest for Sony globally, and contributes 10 per cent to

global sales. Its top three markets are the US, China and Japan. The company will add 1,000

more sales channel counters this year to its distribution network of 6000 sales counters.

CAMERAS

New range of cameras this is in contrast to the recent announcement by its parent company

Sony Corporation which is learnt to have decided to cut nearly 10,000 jobs to reduce losses.

“Currently, the Indian market is contributing 5 per cent of the global revenue and it may rise

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up to 6 per cent in the next one year. Sony India had revenue of Rs.5, 400 crore in 2010-11,”

he said. He said the Indian operations were the fifth largest for Sony globally after Japan, the

U.S., China and Brazil.. In a bid to push its growth further, Sony India on Tuesday launched a

series of 34 new digital cameras in the country, priced between Rs.5,490 and Rs.27,990.

According to Sony India, the digital still camera market in the country stood at 33 lakh units

in 2011-12 and is expected to increase to 42 lakh units by 2012-13. The company is aiming to

sell 14 lakh units of these cameras in 2012-13 as compared to last fiscal's 11 lakh units.

SWOT ANALYSIS

Sony Corporation: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

There are many ways of analyzing a business. Perhaps one of the best ways to do this is by

creating a SWOT - that is, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats -- analysis.

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This sheds light on the good and bad points of a business in terms of its strengths and

weaknesses, which are mostly internal in nature; as well as opportunities and threats, which

are external in nature.

Here is a SWOT analysis of Sony Corporation, which once was the undisputed leader in the

consumer electronics space. Let's take a brief look at the results for Sony.

STRENGTHS

•Sony has built a brand. This is highlighted by the fact that the company was tagged in a 2011

survey as Asia's most valued brand.

•The company is synonymous with technological excellence and has a rich heritage of

technological expertise. Besides creating the Trinitron Color television, VCR, and Walkman,

the company helped develop the magnetic recording tape, the compact disc, and the Blu-Ray

disc, used today as a medium for high-definition video playback. Its latest innovation, a

Crystal LED television, was well received at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

•Out of all its products at present, Sony's success with the Playstation is most noteworthy --

it has been successful since inception, and still sees tremendous consumer demand.

•A strong foothold in the entertainment industry with Sony Music and Sony Pictures has

been beneficial to the company by offsetting losses in its consumer-products division.

WEAKNESSES

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•The high cost of media production, especially in its television business, has affected the

company's pricing strategy. Its television business has lost an equivalent of $6.3 billion for

eight years in a row. It's also losing market share to manufacturers, such as LG and Samsung.

•While diversifying into too many business segments, the consumer electronics giant has

shifted its focus from its core competency -- making great consumer-electronic products. This

has resulted in a distortion in Sony's brand. Apple, which is also in the consumer electronics

space, has managed to focus on just a few products, build competency, and make them

incredibly successful.

.

OPPORTUNITIES

•The company can take advantage of its movie and music business along with its experience

in the gaming space to deliver value-added content to support and integrate its product line. It

has talked about doing this with a four-screen strategy, which looks like a good concept.

•The company lately bought off its entire Sony Ericson joint venture. This should give Sony

the opportunity to act independently and innovate in the booming smartphone and tablet

market.

•The company has the opportunity to enter the healthcare-imaging sector in a significant way

through a possible acquisition of a 30% stake in Olympus.

THREATS

•Sony faces price competition from competitors such as Samsung and LG, who are gaining

traction with lower-cost products such as televisions and mobile devices.

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•If rumors are to be believed, Apple can give a tough time to Sony by introducing its own

version of the television, Apple TV. Moreover, Apple is seeing a significant appreciation in

its brand value compared to Sony on a global basis, according to Interbrand's Rankings.

•Sony's online network faces threats from hackers. The company's Playstation network was

hacked, resulting in leakage of customer information, such as credit-card data.

SONY MARKETING OBJECTIVES 2013

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Sony is focused on increasing its sales for electronic products and deliver corporate value to

its customers and partners. The company projects to increase the sales of Television sets to

17.5 million TV’s by 2013. With regard to play station games, the company plans to sell 16

million units of the play station games by 2013. Sony controls 52.1% of the play station

games market (Pham-gia 8).

The company has adopted a diversity approach by providing different brands for a wide

variety of people. It has a marketing objective of expanding its sales to an existing market

segment made up of women. Women make influence 80% of the purchase of Sony products.

The company intends to take advantage of this market to increase its sales.

The company adopted a marketing objective of positioning itself as the greatest brand in the

eyes of consumers. Through this strategy, 50% of consumers consider Sony products to be of

high quality and convenient to use (Pham-gia 16). The company intends to increase

awareness of its products to casual customers through intensive marketing. Sony plans to

adjust its marketing mix elements to appeal to gamers who make up a large percentage of its

customers. The company plans to retain existing customers, attract new customers and

maintain beneficial relationships with patrons in the long run.

Target market

The company has different customers who have common needs. Sony expects to serve these

customers by availing the products that suit their needs. The upper and middle class families

form one of the target markets for Sony. The company expects to increase revenue from the

market segment by the recently launched Sony Bravia. This product is tailored for upper and

middle class families to watch TV, world sports and movies.

The company’s joint venture with Sony Erickson is a strategy to produce products that suit

the need the low end market mobile phone users. The companies will achieve these by rolling

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out low priced mobile phones for its low end customers. This strategy will boost the

company’s market share in China and all over the world.

The traveling executives form another target market for Sony. The company produced Sony

VIO as a high end model for the traveling executive. This is expected to boost the company’s

fortunes by increasing its margins. The company uses modern Hi Tec technology to

manufacture this product for optimal user experience.

Marketing mix

Product

Through environmental analysis Sony found out that the significance of its product mix is

appealing to customers. The company’s customers are looking for an enhanced product mix.

This is due to the influence of fashion trends that require new designs to be developed to fit

customer specifications. To attract customers Sony has offered attractive bundles and

enhanced products entertainment capabilities for customer satisfaction.

Price

After undertaking a SWOT analysis, Sony realized its big weakness as being its price. Hence

the company has adjusted its price to be competitive against direct competitors. This will

ensure that the company’s sales are increased relative to the sales in previous years.

Place

The name and location of a company is vital to enhance its strength among competitors

(Pham-gia 17). Sony shall maintain good relationships with its subsidiaries to ensure that they

are strategically located.

Promotion

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The major element of Sony’s promotion marketing mix is personal selling, advertising,

publicity and direct marketing (Akpolat 28). The company advertises it products like Bravia

and Sony Wega through the media. The company has advertised its product through sports

like the English premier league. Furthermore, the company uses direct response adverting. In

this approach a consumer is encouraged to provide feed back to the advertiser or place an

order directly, online or through a phone call.

Process

Sony has put in place solid procedures and process. This is one of the important aspects of the

company’s marketing strategy that has proved to be extremely valuable. This feature has

enabled customers to understand the company’s products and know the shape and form that

the company expects to take.

Export Promotion Measures

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The primary responsibility of the Department of Commerce is to facilitate creation of an

enabling environment and infrastructure for accelerated growth of external trade. The core

functions include regulation, development and promotion of India’s international trade and

commerce through formulation and implementation of appropriate trade and commercial

policies. Creation of an international standard infrastructure for rapid growth of trade is an

integral part of the overall long-term policy being pursued by the department.

The department implements the following export promotion measures at micro level to

embark upon the short term and long term problems faced by the trade and industry related to

external sector :-

i. Assistance to States for Developing Export Infrastructure and Allied Activities

(ASIDE) Scheme

ii. Infrastructure Support (Air, Sea and Road Transport)

iii. Market Access Initiative (MAI) Scheme

iv. Marketing Development Assistance (MDA) Scheme

v. Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Limited (ECGC)

vi. National Export Insurance Account (NEIA)

vii. India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF)

viii. E-TRADE Project

ix. Major Initiatives undertaken by Export Promotion Councils (EPCs)

A. Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC)

B. Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC)

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C. Council for Leather Exports (CLE)

D. Chemicals Export Promotion Council (CHEMEXIL)

E. The Plastics Export Promotion Council (PLEXCONCIL)

F. Chemicals and Allied Products Export Promotion Council (CAPEXIL)

G. Shellac and Forest Products Export Promotion Council (SHEFEXIL)

H. Sports Goods Export Promotion Council (SGEPC)

I. Engineering Export Promotion Council

j. Services Export Promotion Council

k. Project Exports Promotion Council of India (PEPC)

l. The Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPC)

m. Indian Oilseeds and Produce Export Promotion Council (IOPEPC)

N. Export Promotion Council for EOUs and SEZs

O. Pharmaceutical Export Promotion Council (PHARMEXCIL)

I. Assistance to States for Developing Export Infrastructure and Allied Activities (ASIDE)

Scheme

The ASIDE scheme was launched on 13.3.2002. During the 10th Five Year Plan (2002-07)

and the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-12) Rs. 2050 Cr and Rs. 3048 Cr respectively were spent

under this scheme. The allocation for financial year 2012-13 is Rs. 800 Crore and the

allocation as per RE (Revised Estimates) is Rs 655 Crore.

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Prior to the ASIDE scheme, the Department had been implementing four infrastructure

development schemes viz. the Export Promotion Industrial Park Scheme (EPIP), Export

Promotion Zones Scheme (EPZ), the Critical Infrastructure Balancing Scheme (CIB) and the

Export Development Fund (EDF) for the North-East and Sikkim etc. The new Scheme

subsumed the aforementioned Central Schemes in order to develop export related

infrastructure. After merger of above schemes in the ASIDE scheme, the on-going projects

under these Schemes have also been funded by the States / UTs from the resources provided

under the ASIDE scheme.

The implementation of the scheme by States / UTs has been encouraging. The salient

findings of a mid-term appraisal of scheme during 11th Five Year Plan commissioned to

IL&FS are asunder:-

It has now been established that there has been an upswing in exports from States and

in concomitance, there has been an upswing in allocation, sanction and utilization and

number of projects being implemented.

Exports have more than doubled in the last four years. Although the increase in

exports cannot be attributed solely to ASIDE, the scheme has contributed

substantially and handsomely to export efforts. In fact, most of the states are now

warming up to the scheme having understood and grasped benefits of leveraging

ASIDE funds.

A quantum jump in allocation of funds is imperative if substantial improvements are

to be expected in infrastructure, and therefore, exports.

The mandate of the Department is regulation, development and promotion of India’s

international trade and commerce through formulation of appropriate international trade and

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commercial policy and its implementation. One of the key objectives is to involve States in

export efforts by providing assistance to States for creating appropriate infrastructure under

Assistance to States for Development of Export Infrastructure and other Allied Activities

(ASIDE) Scheme.

The Vision of Department is to make India a major player in the world trade by 2020 and

assuming a role of leadership in the international trade bodies commensurate with India’s

importance in contemporary world. Besides, the Mission is to double India’s exports of goods

and services by 2013-14 over the level of 2008-09 with a long-term objective of doubling

India’s share in Global trade by the end of 2020 through appropriate policy support.

Introduction of HACCP/GMP/GHP

The Govt. of India (Ministry of Health), has formulated proposals to introduce

theconcepts of Hazard Analysis Control Convention Procedures (HACCP), GoodManufacturi

ng Practices (GMP) and Good Hygienic Practices (GHP), as a steptowards eventual adoption

in the various states in accordance with the International Codex Alumnus, in the context of

trade terms and regulatory, measures under the WTO regime. After discussions with FBMI

and other organizations, the Dept of Health constituted Sectoral Groups on various categories

of food processing industries. The Sectoral Group on Bakery Products consisted of FBMI

((Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) Federation Of Biscuit Manufacturer Of India), as

Convener and FBMI and SIB as members. After detailed deliberations, the Federation

submitted our comments and suggestions, highlighting the hardships that the biscuit units

would face in the event of statutory enforcement of HACCP/GMP/GHP. The

Federation suggested that the concepts of HACCP etc should be made voluntary in the first

two/three years, keeping in view the ground realities in the bakery sector and due to the fact

that the implementation of HACCP/GMP/GHP may be beyond

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hefinancial and technical capabilqities of majority of the biscuit manufacturers andcompulsor

y introduction of these regulations would adversely impact the via Parle Gity and may lead to

closure of a large number of bakeries in the country. FBMI, after detailed deliberations by the

Executive Committee, suggested to the Govt. of India that, in the first instance projects for

imparting training to the Managers/Executives and workforce in the bakery industries should

be organized so as to create awareness28 and knowledge on these complex regulatory aspects

and educate the personnel in the industry on various aspects of HACCP etc.

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CONCLUSION

India’s economy continues to grow. Sony’s electronics sales are growing faster than the

country’s electronics market. Sony’s market share increased in a number of high-growth

product categories. Despite a slight slowdown in growth during the recent global recession,

India’s electronics market picked up speed again in 2010. Sony’s sales in the period grew

faster than the market. BRAVIA™ captured the top share of the market for LCD televisions,

a high-growth product category, in terms of value, while Cyber-shot™ was number one in the

digital camera market in both value and volume sold and VAIOR PCs rose to number three in

the PC market in value terms.* The expansion of our shares in such key markets is

attributable to our operations in India, which we have worked to strengthen, as well as to our

effective channel strategy.

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REFERENCES

http://pro.sony.com/bbsccms/assets/files/micro/radiology/brochures/

FilmStationChart619.pdf

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/sony-india-aims-to-capture-45-

market-share2012-13_698381.html

http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/IR/financial/ar/2011/p12.html

http://www.sony.co.in

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