Sony UK & Ireland tradeshow 2015
to near 4K quality today, so it’s not like the consumer is sitting there waiting to get an improved picture quality, they get it today. Ultimately, a broadcaster has to make a decision about an investment that they face, in broadcasting in 4K. The question mark is on who jumps first. 4K will become a competitive driven platform within the next 18 months, there’s no doubt about that.” Sony also announced the inclusion of
YouView to its range of 2015 BRAVIA TVs. In partnership with YouView it will be the first manufacturer in the UK and Ireland to include the on-demand TV service, the company says. From summer 2015, UK consumers will
have the ability to watch their favourite TV shows from BBC iPlayer, 4oD, ITV Player and Demand 5 as well as live TV using the YouView interface with no need for a separate set-top box. YouView will come on all of Sony’s Android TV- enabled sets in the 2015 range, and include Sony’s ‘One-Flick Entertainment’ system to offer a Smart TV user experience with access to a range of content, from demand services, movies, music, photos, games, apps and more, Sony says. Shaun added: “We’ve adopted the Android operating system into a good portion of the range, to offer unique functionality and some new features. That includes voice control, benefitting from using Google’s technology, the same as through an Android mobile phone. You can ask it about the weather, select streamable content, and there’s a great level of user functionality.” Roy commented: “If you take Android, one of the problems for independents is getting a younger population into store and starting to see it as a genuine place to shop. Android is probably one of the best opportunities they’ve got. The vast proportion of young people have an Android device in their pocket; communicate to those people, ‘come in and see what you can actually do now with your Android device connected with a speaker or a camera or, now, a TV’ and see just how much they can do. It doesn’t mean retailers have to sell Android phones, they just need to understand what they can do.”
The big picture Sony UK and Ireland country head John Anderson responded to questions about Sony’s exit from the home computer sector with Vaio’s withdrawal last year and its effect on the business. He said: “That was a corporate level decision to exit from the business. It was something that has affected some retailers more than others. If you look at the business results in Europe, looking at year-to-date, we’re tracking about 3% up, year on year, so the business that’s been lost in Vaio has
Sony says it is the first manufacturer to incorporate the YouView platform into its TV offering, with sets available to consumers from summer 2015
been more than made up by the growth in TV, soundbar, and so on. When you strip out ‘network’ products, like Vaio, we’ve had a fabulous year, and we expect to be at least 20% up year-on-year. But we’re still positive taking that into account, because it’s been a good year for us. Yes, it was a bit of a worry, but there’s lots of growth categories and within categories themselves there’s also opportunities for growth, and it’s down to the agility of the retailer to adapt to where the growth opportunities are.”
4K will become a
competitive driven platform within the next 18 months, there’s no doubt about that
Roy added: “In true independents, the PC
market was negligible. Very few indies actually invested in PC, primarily because it was a whole new language to learn and actually they never really understood that the margin dynamics of the PC market are different and not what they were used to. So there wasn’t a huge impact to the indies, it was a bigger impact to the Sony Centres. No doubt there was disappointment when Sony pulled out of the PC market because it was one of those brands that could actually drive ASP up, but I think there was a genuine understanding that the PC market had changed dramatically with tablet and everything else, so you have to make some tough decisions. I think it was understood by the trade.” Roy revealed that Sony remains committed
to its Sony Centres, with whom he says Sony enjoys a ‘phenomenal relationship’. He expanded: “From our point of view, the Sony
brand has grown this year, and a strong Sony brand will mean a strong Sony centre.” He added: “It is still a matter of location, location, location. If traffic starts to decline and costs are still high, you’ve got no choice. It makes it uneconomical. But it’s still really positive, when you’ve been through the tough times you build a stronger relationship. The other major benefit of that proximity relationship is they actually help us get that messaging right for our products. They tell us more about how our products work, and how consumers respond to them. They ask questions, give feedback to us, and help us develop our product proposition.” Roy continued that Sony still places the utmost importance on staff and staff engagement. He explained: “Training people and getting people used to these products is absolutely fundamental. We will continue to do roadshows and find ways to train staff, but also our sales managers want to spend more time in stores, not working in back offices, training front of house staff.” Roy also advised retailers to focus on
the right areas in terms of product this year, which he believes means moving slightly away from smaller screen sizes, and more on larger screen sizes. He said: “Retailers have to make tough decisions about big footprint products, where do they focus their AP, ranging, how many brands do they need, how many variations of screen sizes do they need. The g reat thing about independents is that they’re independent; they have to make those calls for their business, in their location, with their consumer base, given all the dynamics they’ve got behind their business, and long may that continue because that’s what makes them special.”
March 2015
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