The Sony Group Corporation was formed in Tokyo, Japan, by Kenichiro Yoshida, and is headquartered in New York City. For example, among Sony's major US-based enterprises are: Sony Electronics Inc., Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Music Publishing Inc., and Sony Music Entertainment. The company's annual sales for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2020, was around USD 76.67 billion, with approximately 114,400 employees.
· Sony’s Electronics: A San Diego-based corporation specializes in delivering audio/video equipment and information technology solutions to both individuals and enterprises. Everything from research and development to marketing to distribution to engineering to sales and customer service is in the bundle.
· Sony Pictures Entertainment: This includes all facets of entertainment product production and delivery. This encompasses both motion picture and television production and acquisition, as well as television networks.
· Sony Music Entertainment/Music Publishing: Sony Music Nashville is an independent record company that represents a number of record companies, including Sony Classical, Columbia Records, and Sony Music Nashville. Sony is often regarded as the most prominent music label in the world. It is the birthplace of a number of famous artists, including as Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson, and Beyonce, in addition to world-class composers and well-known collectors.
· Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC:Is responsible for the continued growth of the PlayStation brand throughout the continents of North and South America, notably in the countries of the United States of America, Canada, and Latin America.
Sony’s Comparative Advantage
Michael Porter's concept serves as the foundation for Sony's generic strategy. As the market shifts, Sony has re-evaluated its aggressive development plan. Sony's tale shows how a generic system and ambitious growth plans based on business fundamentals and market situations have worked so well for one of the most renowned companies. Attractive and affordable options are Sony's main focus when it comes to their products. As an example, consider PlayStations. As a result, Sony is under pressure to innovate on a regular basis in order to keep up with Nintendo and Microsoft. This strategy includes market penetration (primary), new product development (secondary), new market development (secondary), and diversification.
Sony’s Supply & Demand
Sony seeks components and supplies from a wide range of suppliers in order to provide "great quality, fair rates, and a continuous supply." (18). Sony's suppliers are chosen based on their financial and operational stability, the development of new technologies for the supply of outstanding products to customers, the maintenance of low expenditures, the operation of e-commerce, and the preservation of a competitive advantage. Since Sony takes software protection infringements so seriously, its products are free of security issues. Suppliers and an ecologically friendly supply chain are also significant components of Sony's "fair business practice" and equal opportunity objective. A joint venture between Sony and Samsung has been created to keep television expenditure under control. Online product reviews make it easy for a potential buyer to collect information. It is tough for Sony to stand apart in this market despite its best efforts, despite the fact that products in this sector tend to be rather similar. As a consequence of this differentiation challenge, the price elasticity and purchasing power of the consumer are increased. (19).
America and Japan’s GDP
The bulk of Sony's facilities are located in the United States and Japan. PlayStation 5 console sales in the United States have risen as more devices are available to consumers. Japan sold 942,798 units of PlayStation 5 devices in 2021, while the United States sold 4.3 million of the gadgets.
Factors Affecting Sony’s Profitability
The state of the economy, among other things, may have an impact on Sony's profitability. Sony needs to stay up with the competition in the Electronics and Game industries. Sony must be able to manage repeated product and service openings and transitions efficiently in order to remain competitive and drive customer demand. Competition from other firms remains despite Sony's technological and financial advantages. Sony's sales and profitability might be adversely affected by changes in the company's economic, employment, and other demands.
It's possible that Sony's R&D investments may not provide the desired outcomes. It is possible that Sony may not be able to repay its increased production expenses and capital expenditures. This firm restructuring and change may not be successful, in spite of Sony's best efforts.
References
Cowen, T., & Tabarrok, A. (2015). Modern principles of economics. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Sony Corporation of America businesses – operating companies. Sony Corporation of America Businesses – Operating Companies. (n.d.). Retrieved July 3, 2022, from https://www.sony.com/en_us/SCA/who-we-are/overview.html#
SONY CORPORATION. Sony Corporation. (n.d.). Retrieved July 3, 2022, from https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/313838/000095012309016105/k02095e20vf.htm
Sony Group Portal - Sustainability Reporting. (n.d.). Retrieved July 3, 2022, from https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/csr_report/
Good afternoon, great post this week! Your analysis of Sony was very thorough, your comparative advantage was definitely interesting to me as I enjoy videogames and particularly PlayStation, this products supply and demand is very obvious if you know anything about gaming, with the PlayStation 5 being sold out almost instantly each time a new shipment hits stores, almost two years after it's first release. Between the pandemic tightening up supply lines and production limitations, the PlayStation has continued to be Sony's most successful product.