Section 1

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Contents
Section 1:.........................................................................................................................................3

Introduction:................................................................................................................................3

Market Analysis:..........................................................................................................................4

Conclusion:..................................................................................................................................6

Reference:........................................................................................................................................7

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Section 1:
Introduction:

In this current business world,Sony is undoubtedly considered one of the strongest and biggest
Japanese business giants founded by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita in the year of 1946. All of
their business operationsare controlled by them from their headquarter which is situated in
Tokyo, Japan.Despite starting their business by producing rice cookers, Sony got its first
breakthrough in the international marketby selling its Transistor Radio which became very
popular in later days. Now a large portion of the music and entertainmentmarket is dominated by
Sony. Sony is now operating in several major industries such as the motion picture industry
where they produce movies and TV shows, the electronics manufacturing industry where they
produce a very large quantity of home and entertainment equipment. They also provide financial
services and consultancies in the banking and insurance industry. Nowadays, Sony is expanding
its business and investing more in their gaming products (Baker, 2012). Sony entered the gaming
market by manufacturing its gaming console and publishing video games, now they are
considered as the market leader of both the gaming console industry and video games publishing
industry. According to Forbes 2019, Sony is ranked 39 th as the most regarded company in the
world and they are also enlisted as one of the top Fortune 500 companies. Currently, Sony is now
operating in 204 countries and maintaining a very high margin of profit. Sony believes in their
motto of “Make Believe” which describes their motive of promoting creativity and success in
their workplace and operating efficiently by believing in its dream.

Figure 1: Sony Logo

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Among many different types of international business strategies, Sony can be called as a global
company. Because of their centralized operating methods. We can characterize a global company
by its common feature of focusing less on local responses and more on global integration. So,
they tend to produce a single standardized product around the world which helps them maintain
their profit margin by achieving efficiency (Ball, Geringer, McNett, and Minor, 2013). Global
companies like Sony are seen to be highly centralized to their headquarter and decisions or
strategies are taken by their headquarter are seen to be implemented worldwide. We can also see
the practice of producing a single standard product by Sony to fulfill their customer’s demand
around the world which is also a common feature of a global company.

Sony has products in the consumer electronics, gaming, entertainment and financial services
markets. However, the company uses a different categorization to properly group its various
products. This element of the marketing mix is called the product mix, which identifies the
firm’s products or organizational outputs. The following are the main product lines in Sony
product mix:

1. Mobile communications

2. Game and network services

3. Imaging products and solutions

4. Home entertainment and sound

5. Devices

6. Pictures

7. Music

8. Financial services

9. Others

Market Analysis:

India:

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Sony India Pvt. Ltd. was founded in 17 November 1994. Sony India Pvt. Ltd., based in New
Delhi, is the Indian subsidiary of Japan's Sony corporation, headquartered in Tokyo. Sony's
principal Indian businesses include marketing, sales and after-sales service of electronic products
& software exports Products: LCD televisions, video and digital still cameras, notebooks and
business projectors, personal audio, audio video accessories, Hi-fi Audios and Home Theater
systems, Car Audio and Visual Systems, Game Consoles, Mobile Phones, Recording Media and
Energy Devices, Broadcast and Professional products.

In India, Sony has its footprint across all major towns and cities in the country through a
distribution network of over 10,400 dealers and distributors, 270 exclusive Sony outlets and 23
direct branch locations. Moreover, Sony's 19 sales branches cover a total of 450 cities. It has also
developed a network of 270 Sony Center and established 30 warehouses across the country to
manage its supply chain effectively.

Sony India is planning to further its market share in the television vertical in the country from the
current 25 per cent to 35 per cent in the next two years by a slew of launches, which will cater to
different market segments as well as increase its profit margins by raising localisation. The
Bravia range accounts for 60 per cent of its Indian revenue. In India Sony’s console gaming
market growing day by day and it’s a very good sign for Sony corp.

Bangladesh:

In 1984 Rangs Electronics Ltd. (REL) established in Dhaka, Bangladesh. This private limited
company was registered under the Companies Act of 1913 and was incorporated in Bangladesh
on 29th march 1984. REL is the only authorized licensee of SONY CORPORATION, TOKYO,
JAPAN. The company has been assembling, marketing and distributing SONY products in
Bangladesh for the last 30 years.

In 1986, Rangs Electronics Ltd. started with only one brand - SONY with only one 12” Black &
White TV and one RCR. Since then, the brand lineup has increased to more than 20 and the
product lineup to 450. Since then, the product lineup of Rangs Electronics Ltd. has increasing
day by day. REL is now the leadinag marketing, selling and distributing company has the
reputation of being a poineer in the field of Consumer Electronics, Home & Kitchen Appliance,

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Broadcast & Content Creation, Medical Equipments technology in Bangaldesh. Rangs
Electronics Ltd. is presently occupying 30% of total Electronics and Home Appliances market
share in Bangladesh. Sony is one of the most favorite brand in the Bangladesh. People are
satisfied with their product and services and they are continuously buying their product.

Hong Kong:

Sony entered the Hong Kong market for the first time back in the 1959.The company started
with a transistor radio assembly facility through a local entity. This was marked as Sony’s first
production facility at abroad in their history. Later in the 1962 Sony Corporation was established
into Sony Hong Kong as their third overseas company to liaison activities in the Asia pacific
region. In the Beginning Sony entered this market as wholly owned subsidiary through a local
entity. The Electronic Device Marketing Hong Kong Company (EDMH) was previously known
as Sony Electronic device limited (SED). Then in the 1999 SED started as a Joint venture with
Sony Corporation of Hong Kong and became a divisional company. It was later renamed to
Electronics Device Marketing Hong Kong. The EDMH consisting of electronic device as well as
recording media and energy business was officially established on 1 April 2009. Sony is strongly
committed to using unique talents in developing innovative approaches and sound business
practices to help maintain a sustainable society for the next generation.

Conclusion:

In this 21st century’s business world Sony has become one of the biggest business giants who
were operating successfully in more than one industry. Their unique expansion strategy focusing
on new market segments were very precise and innovative (Blackstone, 2009). Initially operating
only in Japan now they are worldwide renowned. They have been operating in the most of the
countries for a long time and have been providing with the best products to its consumers. In the
market there are lot of brands as well like Samsung, LG, Panasonic, Sharp, Toshiba, Philips etc.
Many competitors start to see Sony as their target and main competitor, which will inflict various
threats against Sony. Sony also needs to concentrates on improving itself. They collect “Voice of
Customer (VOC)”, which directly reflect the responses, expectations or suggestions from end-
users. It could be observed that Sony is positively dealing with its competitors, through learning

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from failure and looking for room to further improve. Such strategy helps minimize the
probabilities that their customers would turn to other competitors. It aims at retaining its present
customers and keeping their Number 1 market position.

Reference:
1. Baker, J. (2012). International business expansion into less-developed countries. New York:
Routledge.
2. Ball, D., Geringer, J., McNett, J., & Minor, M. (2013). International business. New York,
NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
3. Blackstone, W. (2009). Commentaries on the laws of England. Clark, NJ: The Lawbook
Exchange.
4. Carl Franzen (2014). THE HISTORY OF THE WALKMAN: 35 YEARS OF ICONIC
MUSIC PLAYERS Retrieved from The Verge website:
https://www.theverge.com/2014/7/1/5861062/sony-walkman-at-35
5. Czinkota, M., Ronkainen, I., & Moffett, M. (2011). International business. Hoboken, NJ: J.
Wiley & Sons, Inc.
6. Eliot, G. (2016). The mill on the Floss. New York: Open Road Integrated Media.
7. Jeff Tyson (2017). The History of PlayStation Retrieved from the website:
https://electronics.howstuffworks.com/playstation1.html
8. Luo, Y. (2013). Entry and cooperative strategies in international business expansion.
Westport, Conn.: Quorum.
9. Piekkari, R., & Welch, D. (2015). Language in international business. Cheltenham: Edward
Elgar.
10. Source Watch (2017). Sony-Ericsson Retrieved from The Verge Source Watch website:
https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sony-Ericsson
11. Console gaming market share in India : https://www.statista.com/statistics/740768/sony-
interactive-market-share-in-console-gaming-india/
12. Sony Bangladesh market : http://www.rangs.com.bd/pages/about
13. Sony India : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_India

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