Sonystyle

Sony Cuts 100 U.S. Jobs with ‘Fit for the Future’ Initiative. More Cuts to Come?

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 8, 2012 | 5 comments

Sony’s already reported a less than stellar Q4 earnings which resulted in the company raising their loss for the full year. Prior to Sony’s financial earnings, Sony had already begun restructuring many parts of their operations, including TV manufacturing. A major TV restructuring will hopefully allow Sony to better compete with South Korean rival Samsung, while better fending off US-made Vizio, who famously makes lower quality TVs. Under the new plans, Sony is splitting their TV operations into three separate businesses starting on November 1st, 2011. These three new departments include LCD TVs, outsourcing, and next-gen TVs.

Now AllThingsD has learned that, over the last several weeks, Sony has been quietly cutting their U.S. workforce as well. The electronic giant has so far cut 100 U.S. jobs, under a new plan called “Fit for the Future.” It’s predicted that more cuts will come in the future though no significant numbers of cuts is expected (i.e., the cuts won’t be in the multi-thousands). Besides cutting jobs under this new program, which will help bring the company’s costs lower, Sony is also evaluating ways to make their brand more profitable, which can come in the ways of a tighter supply chain and inventory management. Tim Cook famously brought this to Apple in the early 2000s which helped the Cupertino-based company significantly lower their costs while having more of the products people wanted on store shelves.

Under this new program, Sony also wants to improve its relationship with consumers by expanding their reach in social media and interactivity with owners and would-be buyers. Sony is also continuing their retail store rebranding, which they started last April by ending the ‘SonyStyle’ name in favor of just ‘Sony‘. Speaking of retail stores, Sony also wants to increase the number of reps they have available in other retail outlets like Best Buy to ensure proper representation of their brand.

During a press event next month, Sony is expected to lay out more information on their “Fit for the Future” initiative.

Sony’s Executive Vice President Mike Fasulo Talks About the New Sony Retail Store Initiative (Video)

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 28, 2011 | 9 comments

For those of you who might have missed the news a few weeks back, Sony is officially killing the SonyStyle name and is instead, rebranding all of their retail stores to simply be called Sony. Continuing this theme, the stores will all see a major overhaul in design and functionality, which will bring them closer to the famous Apple stores while still being exceptionally unique. I had the opportunity to visit the grand opening for the first of these stores and they are simply beautiful. However, the new name and store design is only part of Sony’s plan. Sony’s Executive Vice President, Mike Fasulo was at the new store launch where he presented the store to the media and answered some questions from the crowd as well. At minute 12, we even get a chance to sneak in our own question. After the jump, you can also find a video trailer we put together to show off this new retail initiative.

Pictures from Sony’s New Retail Store

by Sohrab Osati | Apr 4, 2011 | 25 comments

Last week, we had a chance to attend the opening of Sony’s new retail store which we have discussed in detail. Now, we have some pictures to share with you from the event. When it comes to building this website and covering Sony events, I attempt to use as much Sony equipment as I can, seeing how it would only be fair to use the products we write about. During this particular event, I went equipped with a Sony Bloggie Touch and Sony Cybershot HX5. All the photos from this Flickr set were taken strictly on our Bloggie Touch, as was the trailer we shot and our up coming video where Sony’s Executive Vice President, Mike Fasulo talked to everybody about the new store and what this means for Sony.

[Via Flickr]

SonyStyle Stores Renamed

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 3, 2010 | 1 comment

The many SonyStyle stores you have spotted throughout the US are being renamed to just Sony stores. Simple as that. I think this would be a way to unify the Sony brand as a whole and the style aspect is to be seen inside the stores. I was fine with the store names before but I guess it’s easier to remember and say, “Hey let’s go to the Sony store” (and check out all glorious things Sony!). Below is a picture from a store in Japan and a possible look of what we can expect in the US.

Sony Alpha A500 Coming?

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 8, 2009 | 5 comments

If the above screenshot is any indication, Sony is looking to add to their ever expanding lineup of DSLRs with a new 500 model. With Sony’s current Alpha series, Sony is able to cover a wide range of consumer needs, from the more consumer oriented, to the professional. One weak point in the current lineup is the lack of any DSRL with HD Video. Could the Alpha 500 be that model? More so, does the Alpha 500 even exist or is this screenshot from SonyStyles Canada page really a mistake or just a place holder? Time will tell, my dear Watson…

[Via Photorumors]