Sony conceded development within its mobile business has not been fast enough. The comment was made during the company’s ‘Sony IR Day 2018’ where Sony was looking to provide background on how the year is shaping up so far and some insight into how the company plans to move forward in relation to most of its core businesses. As part of the ‘Mobile Communications Segment’ Sony highlighted how sales recently have been down against expectations and padded this out by stating the issue is “not improving product lineup fast enough.”
Sony explains that in addition to seeing the number of units shipped decreasing, the mobile division has also faced additional issues such as a “sharp increase in component costs.” Although, Sony also points out how it has been able to offset against these issues through cost reductions. Which is a point to note as looking forward the company provided some statements which point to the path Sony Mobile plans to continue down. Most pertinently, the target by 2020 is to “create a lean, agile business” for its mobile division “without an excessive focus on revenue and units sold.” A sentiment which suggests that in spite of the continued decrease in sales, Sony plans to continue to mitigate against this through sustained and longer-term cost reductions.
In addition, 5G is also going to play a central role for Sony going forward with the company expecting to create “new value” while also ensuring this is done in a “lean” manner. One of the ways in which this is expected to happen is through Sony drawing on its wider product and service portfolio to offer increased 5G value to its smartphone business. This aspect also seems to be part of the company’s even wider ambitions as it looks to bring better cohesion to all of its products and sectors, to coincide with the onset of 5G. This, in turn, is also expected to improve efficiency across the board and further help to add to the reduction in outgoings. In Sony’s own words, “leveraging the assets, business knowhow and infrastructure.” Likewise, Sony plans to draw on the European market to further help its cause in the future, and this was explained through employing “strategic partnerships with operators” while at the same time “bolstering open channel sales.”
