The unfortunate tragedies that have recently struck Japan have not been limited to just the people of the country. As more damages begin to get assessed, many of Japan’s largest companies like Sony and Toyota are finding out that their facilities were more damaged then they previously thought which is leading to product delays and slow rollouts. On top of that, even if a companies own facilities were not harmed by the earthquake and tsunami, but a partnering supply companies was, this will still lead to product delays as companies are finding it harder and harder to get their hands on key components like batteries. Because of these “supply chain disruptions”, Sony Ericsson has announced that their Gingerbread based, Xperia Neo is receiving the bump and will instead now be launching in July as the company tried to find a consistent supply chain in order to have a proper product launch.
As Sony Ericsson continues to assess the impact of the situation in Japan on its business, we have communicated to our operator customers and distributors that some volume of Xperia arc, Xperia PLAY and Xperia neo phones has been affected. Xperia neo has already been introduced to the marketplace in limited quantities. However, due to supply chain disruptions resulting from the situation in Japan, we have shifted the timing of Xperianeo’s broader launch and it is now planned for early Q3.
We will address this topic at the time of our Q1 financial results announcement call that is scheduled for April 19, 2011.