ZEENAT MOORAD: Sony steps up (at last)
The maker of that great 1980s symbol of cool, the Walkman, has declared its restructuring a success
Sony Corp, the maker of that great 1980s symbol of cool, the Walkman, has declared its restructuring a success. The Japanese conglomerate has been at it for years, slashing jobs and shedding legacy assets. Sony’s downsizing, I guess you could call it, came largely as a result of sustained losses in its consumer electronics business, amid structural change in the industry. Remember that everything Sony was famous for steadily became subsumed by smartphones and software from faster, slicker rivals such as Samsung and Apple. Simply put, Sony failed to capitalise on the digitisation paradigm shift. For the longest time it lost money on almost every gadget it sold. Now, the company is on track to report full-year operating profit of ¥500bn — its highest in about 20 years. This was made possible by culling its Vaio laptop business and a unit that made rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, and spinning out its television and audio units. The group also scaled back on smartphones. Sony’s turn...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.