Product, Marketing & Distribution – Success Pillars of Sony

 Sunil Nayyar
Head, Sales, Sony India

With unlimited passion for technology, content and services, and relentless pursuit of innovation, Sony has continuously been delivering groundbreaking new excitement and entertainment in its own way. As far as the smartphone segment is concerned, Sony’s aggressive focus is highlighted with the launch of over 30 new smartphone models, including variants, in 2014. India is a very strong and high priority market for Sony and is gaining a nice percentage of revenues globally.

Sony is a premium brand and offers more in terms of product quality, design and features. The company has plans to maintain this position in the market in future also. Even in the sub-Rs.10,000 segment, Sony will continue to offer a premium proposition and will retain its proposition of offering, the best in design, quality and features. Sony’s India business is showcasing one of the fastest growth rates globally.

Sony’s Presence in Indian Smartphone Market
Sony India has achieved strong growth across categories. Sunil Nayyar, Head, Sales, Sony India, shares his views, “Our Xperia range of smartphones is forecast to contribute 45% to our overall sales for FY14, as compared to 30% in 2013. This strong growth has been basis expansion of our smartphone range that now offers over 30 models (including colour variants) across price points ranging from the premium end, mid-range and the affordable sub-Rs.10,000 segment.” Beside smartphone, Sony has also introduced other innovative products in the smartphone ecosystem, including Sony SmartWatch, Sony SmartBand, and a host of other exciting accessories.

Sony’s Pillars of Success
Sony’s business is laid on three main pillars: Product, Marketing and Distribution, and the company is aiming to grow by continuously improving on each of these, with innovations and challenging market paradigms. Sunil Nayyar further adds, “We will continuously expand our product portfolio with the latest technologies and innovations and offer best-in-class offerings to customers. There is a strong focus on taking leadership in future technologies like wearable technologies, etc.
The recent progressive policies of the government allowing foreign companies operating in India to sell online, has been received very positively by our management. We are always open to explore the option of manufacturing in India, but right now it is too early for us to share any concrete update on this front.”

Plans for 2015
Sony in smartphone segment has increased its distribution network from 20,000 outlets in the last financial year, to more than 24,600 in FY14. Further, it has plans to expand its distribution and servicing network in the country to achieve increased penetration across markets. In India, Sony also has a very strong service presence across the country with 475 service outlets.
satinder@varindia.com