Sony, led by CEO Kenichiro Yoshida, unveiled a new three-year development plan for its core business areas. The unveiled plan makes it clear that the company’s top priority is to increase its market share in digital cameras and image sensors, and achieve a leadership position in the field by 2021.
So, over the next three years, the company plans to invest about 1 trillion. Yen ~$9bn. into image sensor development, where Sony owns about 50% of the market share. Such large investments are intended to strengthen the company’s position in this segment, as opposed to such giants as Samsung and Canon, which began to increase production of their own sensors.
As for digital cameras, in a presentation delivered at the 2018 Sony IR Day event, the company outlined plans in the medium term to “become the best brand in the digital camera market.”. Canon and Nikon are still industry heavyweights when it comes to this segment, but Sony has made great strides in recent years with its flagship Sony a9, which recently won the Camera of the Year award in Japan.
The company notes that it has “significantly revitalized the mirrorless camera industry” – in part due to its technological advances, as a consequence of major competitors “becoming more aggressive”. A number of rumors confirm that Canon and Nikon are intensively designing their first full-frame mirrorless cameras, with plans to release them within this year.
Sony has every chance to realize its goals. The company already has a long track record of developing ambitious plans and ways to achieve them. After the company suffered major financial losses in 2012, then-CEO Kazuo Hirai proposed a “One Sony” initiative to cut off all of the company’s unprofitable business, focusing on three “sustainable” areas: digital imaging, gaming and mobile devices. After five years, Sony announced record profits at the end of 2017. A few months later, Hirai stepped down as CEO and handed over control to Yoshida, fulfilling his goals of saving the ship.
What is Sony’s strategy to surpass its competitors and achieve market leadership in digital cameras by 2021?