Sony Mobile in trouble, silently exiting (South) Africa

Sony has recently reaffirmed its commitment to the mobile market but which market that will be has now been confirmed. Year after year, the former smartphone giant has failed not only to make profits but even to leave a lasting good impression. Now rumors were again circulating that Sony might be withdrawing from certain markets like Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East where it faces stiff competition from Chinese manufacturers – the rumours have since been confirmed in a new article on Xperia Blog.

The full list of defocused regions include India, Australia, Canada, South America, Mexico, Africa, the Middle East and others. It’s not exactly surprising. Sony has already been winding down its sales and operations in those regions, albeit rather silently.

Sony Mobile’s business strategy may never have been a good fit for our region in the first place. Sony Xperia phones have always been priced as high or even higher than the competition, despite having features below those tiers. Sony has also traditionally been seen more as a brand for serious business, partly due to its old design but it has recently tried aiming for younger crowds. Too little, too late perhaps. When exactly operations will cease is yet to be confirmed.

Sony has repeatedly been rumored to be exiting markets, especially emerging ones, just as it had closed up shop in the US a few years back. It could continue to sell its phones in those markets via retailers like Amazon. But without a strong and visible presence, it could well be on its way to obscurity and irrelevance.

Post Views: 1,025

#Sony #Sony Mobile

Posted By

Papi Mabele

Papi Mabele has a marketing background, he is a digital marketing expert with extensive experience in launching and building global brands in the emerging markets. Papi is also an avid tech writer, enthusiast and all round tech junkie. As a freelance writer and analyst he has been numerously published in Popular Mechanics (SA), GQ South Africa, Premier Magazine, Driven Magazine, Bloem News, Courant, The Weekly, Enthooze Magazine and PiE magazine amongst others.