Sony Will "Never Sell Or Exit” Its Mobile Business, Says Sony’s Mobile Chief

After Sony announced the sale of Vaio computer business, it speculated that the company might sell its mobile division. However, Sony Mobile Chief Hiroki Totoki has come out to say that the company will “never sell or exit” its mobile division, according to reports.

Earlier this year, Sony’s CEO, Kazuo Hirai outlined a strategy that hinted at the company exiting the current smartphone business, which fuelled speculation, reports NDTV Gadgets. The publication also mentions that in February, the company said that it doesn’t expect sales growth in segments like smartphones, where it had to compete with Asian rivals offering affordable options.

In an interview with Arabian Business, Totoki explained that the company is trying to make its smartphone business work. He said to the publication, “We are trying to decrease our costs by 30 percent to the end of 2016, and reduce our headcount by 20 percent.”

What went wrong with Sony’s mobile business?

Despite being one of the best Android handsets in the smartphone segment, Xperia handsets have not been able to maximise the return on the hardware, reports Forbes. The publication notes that the flagship Xperia handsets have the design, power and specifications to give tough competition to any other Android based handset in the market. For that matter, Sony’s ‘Z handsets are very much comparable with Apple’s iPhone.

However, Sony chose to price its handsets at par with the smartphones in mid range segment, which reduced the chances of deriving more profits from the sale of its smartphones. Not only that, by pricing its products at a lower side, it failed to position itself as a luxurious lifestyle brand, as per the Forbes report.

Totoki told NDTV Gadgets that the company has set its plan for 2015 and they are working towards executing it. “This year, 2015, is a year of big transformation, and we will try to complete this transformation by the end of the year, and hopefully see an improvement in financial performance in 2016,” NDTV Gadgets quoted Totoki, as saying.

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