Sony CEO: We're not perfect, but we are on the right track
Sony's chief executive Kazuo Hirai says that the recovery of the firm isn't complete, but the company is heading in the right direction.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the Associated Press reports that Hirai believes the Japanese company is now more "nimble and focused" due to his 9-month stint as CEO, and is now on the right track towards profitability.
Hirai openly admitted that Sony fell far behind rival electronics firms including Apple and Samsung, becoming so bogged down in bureaucracy that the ailing electronics maker's research and development was impacted, which also affected profitability.
The CEO said that he is personally involved in product development to make sure that good ideas are not squashed or held behind red tape in the future. When you consider the death-throes of its ever-unprofitable television sector, perhaps this kind of push is what the firm needs.
"I'm shepherding several of those projects personally myself to make sure that it doesn't get held up in the bureaucracy, or it doesn't suddenly fade away in the approval process," he told reporters at Sony's Tokyo headquarters.
The 52-year old also said that the company has to be "a lot faster in decision making and execution" and even though Sony is far from perfect, he thinks the Japanese firm has "improved significantly" and has "a lot of room to grow."
Sony has had to try and stay afloat amidst four years of reported losses and stiff competition from other firms, especially within the television and smartphone sectors. In Q2, Sony reported earnings which were less bleak than expected, sales increased by 1.9 percent year-on-year but still losing $198 million on revenue of $20.5 billion. These financial results were certainly better than a loss of $312 million in the first quarter, but the company has a long way to go before maintaining a healthy profit.
"It's going to be hard for Sony to catch up," Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Securities Co. in Tokyo told Bloomberg. "Still, the market is expected to continue growing, and that will probably enable Sony to boost sales."