March 31, 2004

Sony open for retail business

Opening up more retail stores, is not something to be done lightly. There's plenty of retailers that sell tech products and will compete with Sony for the customer's time, pocket book/wallet and overall mind share.

When you go shopping for a computer, unless you really want a Sony product, you'd be best served going to CompUSA, Circuit City or some other large retailer that could give you plenty of SELECTION.

However, as CNet reports, this play by Sony is not necessarily all about money This week, executives with the Sony unit laid out plans, some riskier than others, for the U.S. division, which is looking to erase the memory of its poor performance from just a year ago. The company is hoping that stylish and feature-rich products, such as a sub-two-pound notebook and an HDTV digital video recorder, will help sales, but it's also fine-tuning its sales efforts to better target customers.

Generating revenue is not the priority with the stores. They're meant to be more of a showcase for consumers so they can come in, try out everything from DVD camcorders to DVD players to large-screen TVs, and see how different devices can be used together. Sony will be looking to sell consumers a complement of products to suit their needs, according to Hideki "Dick" Komiyama, president and chief operating officer of Sony Electronics. Executives wouldn't comment further on details. (full story)

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