Look around most living rooms and the chances are there's a Sony product somewhere: whether it's a television, a DVD player, an ageing video recorder or a hifi, the Japanese corporation has dominated consumer electronics for decades.
Recently, however, the company has struggled. Led until this week by Welshman Sir Howard Stringer, Sony has battled floods in Japan, a fire at its main warehouse in London, a rising Yen and a resolutely unprofitable TV business. While its profile remains high, the business has been under pressure. At this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the world's biggest trade fair, one major retailer's top buyer told me: "Panasonic are on the rise, Samsung are dominant - but I worry about Sony." This week, the company announced a 17 per cent drop in sales and a $2billion loss. (telegraph.co.uk)
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