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Courtesy of: MSNBC
Sir Howard Stringer on Tuesday said he would remain at Sony for three more years, quashing speculation that he would step down should the electronics group achieve its full-year targets.
The announcement came as Sir Howard, chief executive, outlined his vision for Sony, saying that the electronics behemoth would focus on innovation and shift to digitisation from hardware as pillars of growth as it nears the end of its three-year restructuring plan.
Sir Howard's tenure at the head of Sony has been surrounded by uncertainty, with analysts and investors suggesting he could step down upon achieving a 5 per cent operating margin this fiscal year.
Investors have criticised his performance as a figurehead for the group by failing to attend the bulk of earnings presentations in Tokyo, in spite of spending a lot of time in the city.
However, on Tuesday Wales-born Sir Howard said he was committed to Sony and would guide future growth.
He said the expansion of Playstation Network, which will enable users to download video games, movies and songs for multiple devices such as mobile phones and games consoles, would propel Sony into a software powerhouse.
"Over the next two years we will find ourselves in competition with Apple and Microsoft," said Sir Howard. "If we can connect the dots we have a great advantage over consumer electronics rivals and some advantage over Apple and Microsoft." Sony has been criticised for taking too long to launch an integrated music, movies and games content site, giving Apple ample time to strengthen its video content and launch Apple TV.
Under his tenure, the company's core electronics division has staged a recovery, although its key games division remains in the red due to lacklustre sales and high investment costs for the Playstation 3.
"We have to find a way to tap into [young bright people]," said Sir Howard. "You can't do that by bringing someone into a [Japanese] era of lifetime employment and say 'stand in line'. We need to be more flexible."
"The next cycle is actual innovation," said Sir Howard, pointing to the company's new organic light-emitting diode (OLED) televisions, which are just 3-mm thick.
"When you look at OLED, your impulse is to say 'wow'. We need that reaction from people at Sony … it's a statement of confidence, that there is a path to somewhere else," he said. OLED, which is not exclusive Sony technology, is based on the ability of certain organic chemicals to emit their own light when an electric current is applied. This means that OLED screens require no backlight and can produce crystal-clear images.
Sony is the first company globally to commercialise OLED TVs, which are likely to have a monopoly on the next generation of flat-screen TVs for the forseeable future. Toshiba on Tuesday shelved plans to produce OLED TVs by 2009, due to falling prices for liquid-crystal display televisions and the massive costs of investing in equipment capable of churning out larger panels. Sony's 11-inch OLED TV retails for Y200,000.
In the US, Sir Howard said that despite the "dodgy economy", electronics sales have held up well. Sony is also "putting a lot of energy into Russia, China and India, where there are major independent content opportunities," he said.
Copyright - The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved.
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