Sony might not be having the easiest time financially, but its chief executive, Kazuo Hirai, remains upbeat about the future. Indeed, he claims that – under his leadership, a position he’s held for nine months – Sony are more nimble and focused despite losing money for the last four years in a row.
According to the report Hirai admits that there’s been too much “sprawling bureaucracy” and states he’s getting personally involved with a lot of new projects to see them through with minimal fuss.
[drop2]”I’m shepherding several of those projects personally myself to make sure that it doesn’t get held up in the bureaucracy, or it doesn’t suddenly fade away in the approval process,” he said to Japanese press.Sony’s TV division has been in the red for nine years. Hirai, in the face of much cheaper tech from China and Taiwan, says Sony will continue to target those wanting to spend a little more, and won’t enter price wars.
And whilst Sony’s financials last year pointed to a $5.1 billion loss, the figurehead still wants to “wow” people with new technology.
Alongside a waterproof, full-HD mobile phone CES also saw Sony showcasing 4K television sets, even though Hirai himself admits it could take a decade for 4K to gain traction.
“We need to be a lot faster in decision making. We need to be a lot faster in execution. We need to be passionate about our product,” Hirai said.
“Are we perfect? No. But I think we’ve improved significantly.”
kjkg
Personally, I have three SONY TV’s and they are all great. But when you see them next to cheaper brands and the quality is still there, I can understand why they aren’t doing so well.
Teraflops.
Kennykazey
I wonder how many TV models they’re manufacturing now, didn’t they make too many similar ones a couple years ago? The Sony TVs have always been great. Anyway, I hope Sony picks up, they have some great ideas and they’re actually likable compared to a number of other brands.
I’d love a waterproof phone, but the late Ericsson ones weren’t very good. Solid cameras, but I know a couple people who’s had a few and they always broke. Stopped charging among other things. I don’t know if that’s changed after the buyout.
Here’s hoping to be wowed by the next Playstation.
Bilbo_bobbins
I love their TVs and Stereos, best quality at decent prices. But they do need to come up with some new ideas to keep up with the rest.
JBoo
I will be sticking with SONY for all my future Tech :P & after seeing at CES ‘One Touch NFC’ & that ‘TV Side View’, that makes me want to stick with 1 brand even more really;)
yiddo
You love Sony don’t you, pal? Bet you got a Sony T-shirt and everything ;)
bunimomike
Probably got a Sony fleshlight! ;-)
yiddo
Your halfway through the experience and BAM – maintenance. Talk about anti-climax.
KeRaSh
Brilliant!
Temascos
Its nice to see Kaz assessing the company’s strengths and weaknesses, the last guy (Stringer?) was clearly not that beneficial on the whole and led badly during the recession.
bunimomike
Agreed. He was too hopeful about all departments still recovering, I think. Kaz, as little as I want to see his smug face in front of the camera, looks to be finally turning things around – albeit slowly.
Good on him.
xdarkmagician
I like Kaz, but I still don’t think he’s the right guy for the job. I haven’t been “WOW”ed by a Sony product in a long time. They have some cool ideas, like the PS phone and the shape of their tablets, but for every part cool theres also a part of fail. If they ever create something original again they can charge what they want, but when you just copy existing tech you need to price it accordingly. This is where I believe Sony is failing. As the article mentions, theres just too much cheaper tech on the market for Sony to compete. Back in the 90’s Sony producs were luxury items, all tech was and people saved money for them, but today tech is becoming a way of life and the people that can’t afford a Sony tv are no longer saving up for a Sony tv, they’re buying a Vizio instead because having a piece of tech is more important than having a Sony piece of tech. I’m not trying to sound racist but I believe that stubborn japanese business models is killing Sony, IMO they’re not going to change, just look at the tv quote. For Sony, it seems more to do with pride then profit. I expect Sony will be arrogant up to the bitter end.