Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE) used to get me excited over a decade ago. The nameplate was at the top of the consumer electronics field and the Sony Playstation was one of the marquee brands of the wold. Today, Sony's brand is boring, plain and overpriced to millions of consumers, and the company's slumping sales of late signify this. Competitors Samsung and LG of Korea have mauled it a bit in the HDTV market, and upstart Vizio is killing it as well, undercutting prices in a huge way while maintaining great style and -- according to many -- similar quality. Why would anyone buy a Sony HDTV today?
An answer to that question may come this fall, when the venerable electronics giant unveils no less than 15 new flat-panel television sets in what could be seen as a desperate attempt to take shelf space from rivals in any way it can. A general rule of retail is: Whoever has the most shelf space, wins. It works for food, electronics and clothing merchandising in many cases.
Sony's clever launch in the back half of 2007 is meant to take advantage of the upcoming holiday shopping season(s) in the U.S. more than anything. Its blitzkrieg unloading of more than a dozen models should help it compete better against rival Samsung, but Sony is using an interesting marketing pitch for all these new television sets, which range from 40 inches to 70 inches: The remotes for each one don't have to be pointed directly at the television itself.
In other words, the remotes are not using infrared technology. This comes on the heels of a $100 million marketing blitz earlier in August to re-stir interest in high-definition TV sets. If a "new remote" angle is the best Sony can do here to try and recapture market share, it will fall flat on its face. That, or customers used to pointing remotes at televisions for over two decades will instantly acclimate to non-pointing remote technology. Yeah, right.
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