Sony To Exit The Smartphone Business In India, North America Among Other Countries

Japanese electronics giant Sony was once one of the most renowned smartphone makers in the world. In the past, mobile devices from the company boasted of a unique design, innovative camera features and a clean software experience. But, due to the ever-increasing competition from Chinese manufacturers like Huawei, OnePlus and Xiaomi, Sony has not seen much success lately. According to a latest report, the smartphone business by the company is running on losses. Now, in an attempt to curb costs and prevent more loss, Sony has announced it is exiting major markets worldwide including India and North America.

What Does This Mean?

In the annual corporate strategy day on the 21st of March, Sony announced it has selected its areas of focus for smartphones. These countries include Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Europe. The countries that constitute the rest of the world either don’t have a presence of the company’s mobile devices yet or are the ones which have been left out of the focus areas. The latter are referred to as defocussed areas and includes regions like India, Australia, Canada, North America, Africa, The Middle East among others. While reports of the company jumping ship from these markets were rife for a while; it is the first time an official confirmation from Sony has been received.

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Along with concentrating on the focussed areas, Sony also plans to cut down its smartphone workforce by half in the next year. This is seen as a cost-cutting measure which may return profits; especially in regions where mobile devices from the company have proven to be popular. With respect to the defocused areas, Sony has planned to withdraw from the sales and marketing of smartphones in the aforementioned regions. All the above changes insinuate that the company is looking forward to implementing major changes with regard to its smartphone business.