Business Channel 2006-10-23&25

The trouble with Sony. It's not a Hitchcock film, but the last few months have been a thriller¹ for the world's No.2 consumer electronics firm, with battery recalls, product delays, and analyst² and market disappointment. The creator of the Walkman hopes to rebound³ under foreign CEO Howard Stringer, but brand analyst Martin Roll says Sony has lost its way.

Sony definitely has a myth, but of late, the last couple of years they have been overrun by realign the iPods, the Samsungs, a lot of different competitors in different industries. And it seems like they have lost the touch in terms of design and innovation. They used to be a trendsetter, and now they have become a trend follower⁴.

Some say Stringer inherited in June 2005 a bloated conglomerate⁵ still reeling from its infamous⁶ SONY shock. It needed job cuts, a paring of its diverse businesses, and a leader to do this quickly. An obvious detour⁷ has been the recall of nearly ten million PC batteries due to safety concerns, which will cost 430 million dollars, and combines with one and a half billion in losses at Sony's game unit to force a 62% cut in earnings⁸ forecast.

Much depends on the next generation PlayStation 3, which will compete with Microsoft's X-Box 360, and Nintendo's upcoming Wii unit from next month in Japan and the US, but miss the crucial Christmas season in Europe due to a delay. Fitch analyst Tatsuya Mizuno says the delay and a PS3 price cut even before the product reaches Japanese shelves shows management's confusion.

On the game hardware side, they need high prices to recoup start-up investment, but on the software side, they want low prices to attract and lock in customers. In my view, Sony tried to compromise between the two, but the price cut was a half-baked approach.

Earlier this month, Fitch downgraded Sony's debt rating, saying the company, renowned⁹ for innovation, had not brought such products to market for some time. Solutions for the blue-blue chip aren't easy, but Mizuho's Koichi Hariya says less emphasis on the electronics division, responsible for 70% of revenues, may help.

I believe for the middle- to long-term, the only course for Sony to take is putting less emphasis on electronics manufacturing, which is happening in the global economy, and should be the approach for Sony.

Sony's market value is about 40 billion dollars. That's down about 7% since early September, and less than half rival Samsung Electronics, which was smaller only five years ago. While no one solely¹⁰ blames Howard Stringer, many have asked what he intends to do to stem the bleeding, and put the once proud leader back in front.

Dan Sloan, Reuters, Tokyo.

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1. Hitchcock--British director known for his suspense¹¹ films, including The 39 Steps (1935), Strangers on a Train (1951), and Psycho (1960).

2. thriller--noun. an exciting, suspenseful¹² play or story, esp. a mystery story.

3. of late--Recently; lately

4. pare--verb. to remove (an outer coating, layer, or part) by cutting

5. recoup--verb. to regain¹³ or recover; to get back the equivalent of

6. half-baked--adj. not completed; insufficiently planned or prepared; unrealistic

1 thriller   

n.惊险片，恐怖片

参考例句：

• He began by writing a thriller.That book sold a million copies.他是写惊险小说起家的。那本书卖了一百万册。
• I always take a thriller to read on the train.我乘火车时，总带一本惊险小说看。

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。

4 follower   

n.跟随者；随员；门徒；信徒

参考例句：

• He is a faithful follower of his home football team.他是他家乡足球队的忠实拥护者。
• Alexander is a pious follower of the faith.亚历山大是个虔诚的信徒。

5 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。

6 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

7 detour   

n.绕行的路，迂回路；v.迂回，绕道

参考例句：

• We made a detour to avoid the heavy traffic.我们绕道走，避开繁忙的交通。
• He did not take the direct route to his home,but made a detour around the outskirts of the city.他没有直接回家，而是绕到市郊兜了个圈子。

8 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

9 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

10 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

11 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

12 suspenseful   

adj.悬疑的，令人紧张的

参考例句：

• If his experiences then had been carefully recorded, it would undoubtedly have made a suspenseful and moving book. 若是把他所经历的事实记录下来，那就是一部充满着大智大勇，惊心动魄的小说。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Lily is an atmospheric and suspenseful tale of love, loss and obsession. 这是一个关于爱情、失落与迷恋的故事，充满情调与悬疑色彩。 来自互联网

13 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。