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Guys I found a really nice article on Sony cooperation in India !!!
Sir Howard Stringer, the first non-Japanese head of Sony Corporation, has visited India more than six times in six years, and every time his agenda has been the same-profitability. "If our business doesn't grow by 50% annually, Howard has already told me that I won't have a job," says Sony India's Chairman of the Board Keki Dadiseth jokingly. So far, the Japanese electronics and entertainment major has managed to achieve the number. The Vietnam War veteran from the US wants the company to keep going at this rate despite increasing competition from LG, Samsung and others. He wants India to be among the top five markets of Sony and believes it can be achieved by giving equal importance to content and technology. In an interview, Sir Howard tells ET that Sony can keep its groW*H rate without compromising on profit margins.
Sir Howard Stringer, the first non-Japanese head of Sony Corporation, has visited India more than six times in six years, and every time his agenda has been the same-profitability. "If our business doesn't grow by 50% annually, Howard has already told me that I won't have a job," says Sony India's Chairman of the Board Keki Dadiseth jokingly. So far, the Japanese electronics and entertainment major has managed to achieve the number. The Vietnam War veteran from the US wants the company to keep going at this rate despite increasing competition from LG, Samsung and others. He wants India to be among the top five markets of Sony and believes it can be achieved by giving equal importance to content and technology. In an interview, Sir Howard tells ET that Sony can keep its groW*H rate without compromising on profit margins. Excerpts:
India contributes just over 3% to your global sales of around $88 billion. How do you justify this number in the world's second-largest consumer market ??
We want India to be among the top five markets. For that to happen, India will have to generate revenues of more than $4 billion at the current level. At present, India's contribution must be around $1.2 billion and we are targeting to reach sales of $2 billion by 2012. We think it is achievable with our current groW*H rate of 50%.
What will Sony need to do to achieve its target in the country?
We have to keep getting things right in India. We have cricket, which we can tap into. And we have to improve Sony Entertainment Television (its television channel) too. We have to migrate our global television shows to the Indian market. We have to take Indian Idols (a singing competition on Sony channel) and make them stars in the music business. We need to interconnect all our elements and businesses and make India a better market than anywhere in the world. As far as the consumer electronics business is concerned, sliding profitability in the television business, where commoditisation is working against all manufactures, is a tricky situation. We will add greater differentiation in TV through our internet capabilities and give more applications.
But the main concern for your products isn't so much about quality. It's all about price. Will you tweak your premium pricing strategy to reach out to more consumers?
If I go to a customer, they are not going to say we would like a more expensive television. That's human nature. We try to put a price that makes sense. We work on pricing all the time and we have to be competitive with Samsung and LG and others. So, while we talk to the customer, the customer has to depend on our quality. We don't go into the market with the cheapest product; there is no future in it. So the question is, does the Indian customer find our quality superior than competition. If they do, we are happy.
Have you spoken to the Indian retailers and consumers to get a hang of the on-ground situation?
Of course. When I first went to the stores, a lot of people told me that the stores were too bright and antiseptic and they weren't human enough. Indian customers like more intimate and warm retail environment and we tried to go in that direction. Initially, we were a little cold. Now we are doing much better.
Didn't the customers tell you that if Sony lowers its price, it will sell more?
You can't sell television at a loss just to make yourself more popular. We have created cheaper televisions for India and they have become more affordable for India. But the game is to make profit; the minute we are in charity, we are out of work.
The proof of the pudding is that our brand equity is growing upwards in spite of the 5-15% price decrease and the fact is that we have good margins and we are profitable.
Plz press like and do live in wht u rink of and I also found out that Sony cooperation the net worth of $ 20 million wow
Howard Stringer
Sir Howard Stringer
Stringer at opening night of the 2009 Metropolitan Opera
Born February 19, 1942
Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
Occupation Chairman, President and CEO of Sony Corporation
Net worth $20 million[1]
Spouse Jennifer A. Kinmond Patterson
Sir Howard Stringer, the first non-Japanese head of Sony Corporation, has visited India more than six times in six years, and every time his agenda has been the same-profitability. "If our business doesn't grow by 50% annually, Howard has already told me that I won't have a job," says Sony India's Chairman of the Board Keki Dadiseth jokingly. So far, the Japanese electronics and entertainment major has managed to achieve the number. The Vietnam War veteran from the US wants the company to keep going at this rate despite increasing competition from LG, Samsung and others. He wants India to be among the top five markets of Sony and believes it can be achieved by giving equal importance to content and technology. In an interview, Sir Howard tells ET that Sony can keep its groW*H rate without compromising on profit margins.
Sir Howard Stringer, the first non-Japanese head of Sony Corporation, has visited India more than six times in six years, and every time his agenda has been the same-profitability. "If our business doesn't grow by 50% annually, Howard has already told me that I won't have a job," says Sony India's Chairman of the Board Keki Dadiseth jokingly. So far, the Japanese electronics and entertainment major has managed to achieve the number. The Vietnam War veteran from the US wants the company to keep going at this rate despite increasing competition from LG, Samsung and others. He wants India to be among the top five markets of Sony and believes it can be achieved by giving equal importance to content and technology. In an interview, Sir Howard tells ET that Sony can keep its groW*H rate without compromising on profit margins. Excerpts:
India contributes just over 3% to your global sales of around $88 billion. How do you justify this number in the world's second-largest consumer market ??
We want India to be among the top five markets. For that to happen, India will have to generate revenues of more than $4 billion at the current level. At present, India's contribution must be around $1.2 billion and we are targeting to reach sales of $2 billion by 2012. We think it is achievable with our current groW*H rate of 50%.
What will Sony need to do to achieve its target in the country?
We have to keep getting things right in India. We have cricket, which we can tap into. And we have to improve Sony Entertainment Television (its television channel) too. We have to migrate our global television shows to the Indian market. We have to take Indian Idols (a singing competition on Sony channel) and make them stars in the music business. We need to interconnect all our elements and businesses and make India a better market than anywhere in the world. As far as the consumer electronics business is concerned, sliding profitability in the television business, where commoditisation is working against all manufactures, is a tricky situation. We will add greater differentiation in TV through our internet capabilities and give more applications.
But the main concern for your products isn't so much about quality. It's all about price. Will you tweak your premium pricing strategy to reach out to more consumers?
If I go to a customer, they are not going to say we would like a more expensive television. That's human nature. We try to put a price that makes sense. We work on pricing all the time and we have to be competitive with Samsung and LG and others. So, while we talk to the customer, the customer has to depend on our quality. We don't go into the market with the cheapest product; there is no future in it. So the question is, does the Indian customer find our quality superior than competition. If they do, we are happy.
Have you spoken to the Indian retailers and consumers to get a hang of the on-ground situation?
Of course. When I first went to the stores, a lot of people told me that the stores were too bright and antiseptic and they weren't human enough. Indian customers like more intimate and warm retail environment and we tried to go in that direction. Initially, we were a little cold. Now we are doing much better.
Didn't the customers tell you that if Sony lowers its price, it will sell more?
You can't sell television at a loss just to make yourself more popular. We have created cheaper televisions for India and they have become more affordable for India. But the game is to make profit; the minute we are in charity, we are out of work.
The proof of the pudding is that our brand equity is growing upwards in spite of the 5-15% price decrease and the fact is that we have good margins and we are profitable.
Plz press like and do live in wht u rink of and I also found out that Sony cooperation the net worth of $ 20 million wow
Howard Stringer
Sir Howard Stringer
Stringer at opening night of the 2009 Metropolitan Opera
Born February 19, 1942
Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
Occupation Chairman, President and CEO of Sony Corporation
Net worth $20 million[1]
Spouse Jennifer A. Kinmond Patterson
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