Sony is bleeding money - business strategy discussion

[Silent_Buddha]

No - Bravia TVs, BRD players, Home Theater (stereo/audio) is all under "Consumer, Professional & Devices" division.

Unfortunately not. If you look on page 6 of their FY2011 earnings report you'll see some of the products included in NPS.

As for networked services, in fiscal year 2010 we launched two services under the Qriocity™*4 brand name. The two new services are “Video On Demand service powered by Qriocity™”*5 and “Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity™,”*6 and they are available in nine countries and across Sony’s many network-enabled products including certain BRAVIA™ LCD televisions, Blu-ray Disc™ (BD) players and home theater systems, as well as PlayStation®3 (PS3®), PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) and VAIO® PCs. Additionally, in countries where Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity is available, the service is now available on Xperia™ smartphones from Sony Ericsson, as well as Android-based third party devices.

That's not an exhaustive list of all divisions under NPS, just the ones that Sony wanted to point out.

Regards,
SB

 

[NavNucST3]

Unfortunately not. If you look on page 6 of their FY2011 earnings report you'll see some of the products included in NPS.



That's not an exhaustive list of all divisions under NPS, just the ones that Sony wanted to point out.

Regards,
SB

SB, I believe you are misreading that paragraph.
CPD is described on p.36 as:

Sony’s Consumer, Professional & Devices segment includes televisions, digital imaging, audio and video, semiconductors and components as well as professional solutions.

 

[tuna]

Unfortunately not. If you look on page 6 of their FY2011 earnings report you'll see some of the products included in NPS.



That's not an exhaustive list of all divisions under NPS, just the ones that Sony wanted to point out.

Regards,
SB

That quote just list products that NPS' services are available for.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

That quote just list products that NPS' services are available for.

Ah, yes, you are correct, I was misreading it. One of the drawbacks of skimming through the thing quickly.

Regards,
SB

 

[patsu]

In their own words:

Interesting. How did they improve their cost of sale ? Is it a permanent improvement ?

 

[patsu]

SB, I believe you are misreading that paragraph.
CPD is described on p.36 as:

Sony’s Consumer, Professional & Devices segment includes televisions, digital imaging, audio and video, semiconductors and components as well as professional solutions.

This is also interesting. Kaz Hirai was promoted to head CPSG in March:
http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201103/11-032E/index.html

Kazuo Hirai, currently Corporate Executive Officer and Executive Vice President, will be named Representative Corporate Executive Officer and Executive Deputy President, Sony Corporation, and will be responsible for the Consumer Products & Services Group, which will include all of Sony's consumer electronics businesses -- including TV, Home Video, Home Audio, Digital Imaging, PC, Game and Mobile products -- as well as the networked service businesses.

...

The Professional, Device & Solutions Group, which includes broadcast and professional products, semiconductors, batteries and other key components, will be led by Hiroshi Yoshioka, Corporate Executive Officer and Executive Deputy President, Sony Corporation.

The financial report lumps some consumer devices together with professional services in the CPD segment. Kaz's effort is "really everywhere" in Sony, or has he farmed out some responsibilities to Yoshioka ?

EDIT:
Focusing Kaz on NPS recently seems to produce results faster:
http://blog.us.playstation.com/2011...aystation-blog-officially-launched-in-brazil/

Today, Brazil becomes the second country in Latin America to enjoy digital content from PlayStation Network with the launch of PlayStation Store on the PS3. Starting today, PS3 users will gain access to the PlayStation Store to purchase and download nearly 200 pieces of digital content, including games, demos and PSone Classics, all without leaving the comfort of the living room couch. Purchases can be made using credit cards and prices are displayed in local currency, Brazilian Real. PlayStation Network pre-paid cards will soon be available at a variety of local retail stores, soon to be announced. Brazilian users will have the option to view the PlayStation Store in English or fully localized Brazilian Portuguese. New content will be added to the PlayStation Store weekly, beginning on August 2, including the addition of more downloadable PSP titles, so check back regularly.

And if that’s not enough, we are also announcing the launch of the PlayStation Brazil Blog, where Brazilian media and fans will find official news, and the PlayStation Brazil Website where all Brazilians will be able to access product information from the official source in real time.

Sure hope Andrew House can flex some muscles at the end of the year after the most recent user survey.

 

[NavNucST3]

I want to reiterate that Sony reports last quarters results next week, the annual report is for FY2010 which for Sony ended in March. Sony is currently in FY11 and will be reporting on Q1 FY11 on the 28th.

 

[boommoob1]

Whatever the reason is they had a big loss.

As far as the PS3 is concerned? Where did that come from
For me the PS3 was the ticket to HiDef movies and to this day i am HAPPY it was part of the army that CRUSHED the HD-DVD alliance and send it into the grave.

In regards to Sony i think it started as a big disaster that cost them much goodwill with the BC scandal and general nerfing of the console, they played right into the hands of the haters and fueled the hatenet.

Things they did in order to reduce the money loss and get it into a competivie pricing instead of having more SKU´s.

But it helped them avoid a even bigger disaster with the HD-DVD getting beaten into a bloody pulp.

At least they have been seeing better sales as the price has gone down.

PSP 70million, PS3 50million. disastrous. Vita, PS4 both 100m sellers?.

 

[deathindustrial]

I don't think this has been mentioned yet:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/07/22/sony_breach_insurance/

According to the complaint, Sony tendered the complaints and claims to Zurich and has demanded that the insurer defend it against the claims. It goes on to say ZAIC isn't obligated to cover the costs because Sony's insurance policy insures only against legal claims for "bodily injury", "property damage", and "personal and advertising injury".

"ZAIC therefore has no obligation to defend or indemnify the Sony defendants under the ZAIC Excess Policy for the claims asserted in the class action complaints or the miscellaneous claims," the complaint, filed in the Supreme Court of New York County, stated. It seeks a court ruling that none of the hack attacks qualify for coverage.

Cheers

 

[patsu]

I want to reiterate that Sony reports last quarters results next week, the annual report is for FY2010 which for Sony ended in March. Sony is currently in FY11 and will be reporting on Q1 FY11 on the 28th.

Now I see the discrepancy !

 

[boommoob1]

I don't think this has been mentioned yet:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/07/22/sony_breach_insurance/



Cheers

Stringer will be gone soon, his years have been the worst in the company's history. But i'm at a loss about why Kaz Hirai will get the job.

 

[Rockster]

For me the PS3 was the ticket to HiDef movies and to this day i am HAPPY it was part of the army that CRUSHED the HD-DVD alliance and send it into the grave.

Not quite sure CRUSHED is an appropriate description, as Warner was within an eyelash and $500 million of being HD-DVD exclusive. Not that it mattered who ended up winning from a consumer point of view. So long as someone won. Either format could have satisfied consumer demand.

 

[patsu]

Stringer will be gone soon, his years have been the worst in the company's history. But i'm at a loss about why Kaz Hirai will get the job.

Not really. There are some mishaps, natural disasters, also perhaps too much emphasis on short term gain. But what his has done in Sony is exactly the right medicine. To force people to work together. To keep their eyes on profit rather than revenue. To groom younger people for bigger roles. It is probably a huge learning experiences for the execs.

They should refine their execution further, and bring the backoffice improvements to the front so that they translate to real user benefits. This may require some flexibility in interpreting Stringer's rules. ^_^

Kaz seems to be pretty sharp and effective so far although it looks like he needs a tech guru to help him set the longer term tech platform issues. The PS Suite idea is interesting but it may be very difficult to execute as Google, Apple will want their own stack including gaming and media. IMHO, Sony should focus on Playstation to unify and extend their offerings first or at the same time.

 

[patsu]

Not quite sure CRUSHED is an appropriate description, as Warner was within an eyelash and $500 million of being HD-DVD exclusive. Not that it mattered who ended up winning from a consumer point of view. So long as someone won. Either format could have satisfied consumer demand.

Where did you hear about $500 million HD-DVD exclusive package ^_^ ?
The rumored $500 million sum was never confirmed as a payment to Warner although the BDA execs did mentioned joint marketing. Perhaps that sum was the total expense BDA is willing to invest to promote BR after the war. They may come from all the key members, especially Sony since it needs to sink in $$$ for PS3 marketing and production anyway.

Toshiba already lost too much money on the cheap players, and Q4 sales showed that BR was still winning. There was no need to prolong the war since the early adopters preferred BR, or rather one single HDM format.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

I want to reiterate that Sony reports last quarters results next week, the annual report is for FY2010 which for Sony ended in March. Sony is currently in FY11 and will be reporting on Q1 FY11 on the 28th.

Yes, it's just how they decide to label their reports. I mistakenly assumed they went by FY ending XXXX as many companies do when labeling their reports (MS for example just ended FY2011 and are starting FY2012), but Sony actually uses FY starting XXXX for labeling their reports hence we were looking at FY2010 above.

Regards,
SB

 

[-tkf-]

Not quite sure CRUSHED is an appropriate description, as Warner was within an eyelash and $500 million of being HD-DVD exclusive. Not that it mattered who ended up winning from a consumer point of view. So long as someone won. Either format could have satisfied consumer demand.

HD-DVD was CRUSHED and died a deserved death at great and well deserved costs to Toshiba.
Money bribes or whatever that went on is so useless since no one never found out what happened and who did what. Had the war dragged out the PS3 would have been in a weaker position than it ended up with.

 

[boommoob1]

Where did you hear about $500 million HD-DVD exclusive package ^_^ ?
The rumored $500 million sum was never confirmed as a payment to Warner although the BDA execs did mentioned joint marketing. Perhaps that sum was the total expense BDA is willing to invest to promote BR after the war. They may come from all the key members, especially Sony since it needs to sink in $$$ for PS3 marketing and production anyway.

Toshiba already lost too much money on the cheap players, and Q4 sales showed that BR was still winning. There was no need to prolong the war since the early adopters preferred BR, or rather one single HDM format.

PSPLUS i'd expect to be a damp squid. Apple, Samsung etc wouldnt allow it. And there own market shares in the portable spaces are miniscule. Hirai like Stringer is maybe a good firefighter but Sony have to compete with Apple Samsung. They seem to have things back to front.

 

[NavNucST3]

HD-DVD was CRUSHED and died a deserved death at great and well deserved costs to Toshiba.
Money bribes or whatever that went on is so useless since no one never found out what happened and who did what. Had the war dragged out the PS3 would have been in a weaker position than it ended up with.

I enjoy my HD DVDs as much as my Blu-ray. My biggest issue with BD in the beginning was the lack of standards for hardware and software. Instead of casting so much hatred towards HD DVD why not cast it to the unbelievable amount of shitty transfers...anyway HD DVD combos are still better to me than these BD 4 packs I'm getting simply because I want the 3D version of some titles. I definitely believe HD DVD would have been cheaper for not just the consumer but the CE mfrs as well but its dead so it doesn't matter. BDs scratch resistance is definitely something I like.

 

[mrcorbo]

I enjoy my HD DVDs as much as my Blu-ray. My biggest issue with BD in the beginning was the lack of standards for hardware and software. Instead of casting so much hatred towards HD DVD why not cast it to the unbelievable amount of shitty transfers...anyway HD DVD combos are still better to me than these BD 4 packs I'm getting simply because I want the 3D version of some titles. I definitely believe HD DVD would have been cheaper for not just the consumer but the CE mfrs as well but its dead so it doesn't matter. BDs scratch resistance is definitely something I like.

Now, at the end, I'm content that BluRay won out. At the time I had a definite preference for HD DVD because I didn't like the extra layers of copy protection and the rapidly fluctuating specifications (one of many signs that show BluRay was released before it was finished baking). Now that the CP is broken and we don't have a new profile every few months I find BluRay much more attractive then I did. The fact that I can rip out all of the BD-Java crap so I never have to deal with it unless I want to helps.

 

[NavNucST3]

Now, at the end, I'm content that BluRay won out. At the time I had a definite preference for HD DVD because I didn't like the extra layers of copy protection and the rapidly fluctuating specifications (one of many signs that show BluRay was released before it was finished baking). Now that the CP is broken and we don't have a new profile every few months I find BluRay much more attractive then I did. The fact that I can rip out all of the BD-Java crap so I never have to deal with it unless I want to helps.

That's basically where I'm at, though as you know from our talks I've headed towards a mostly download (legal) world.