Brand Vaio, previously owned by Sony, re-entering the market, but now as an independent producer. "Times" examined what could be the prospects for the company's shrinking PC market.
Famous brand Vaio notebooks were sold by Sony in February 2014. The buyer was Japan Industrial Partners, which paid for the maker of laptops, according to various sources, from $ 400 to $ 500 million. Its decision Sony argued "radical changes in the global PC-industry" or, more simply, prolonged fall in the PC market. Instead, Sony has decided to focus on the segment of smartphones and tablets.
The very Vaio, under the leadership of Japan Industrial Partners, at first wanted to focus on the corporate segment of the Japanese market, where the brand's position was particularly strong.
Now, however, the company decided to rediscover the international sales. The devices of this brand will arrive at retail in the US in October. In particular, sales of Vaio through its network of shops will deal with Microsoft. According to the company, this is due to the fact that Microsoft wants to expand the range of products on offer for all audiences.
In addition, the company counts on the Brazilian market by signing a partnership with the local electronics manufacturer Positivo Informatica. The company will produce and distribute devices designed Vaio.
However, at the moment Vaio extremely weak position in the market. According to Euromonitor, who leads The Wall Street Journal, even for native Japanese market share of less than 1%?
The company now employs only 250 people, and manufacture of devices on a single Vaio established factory, which it also belongs.
According to the CEO Yoshimi Ota, Vaio will aim to occupy a niche in the segment of premium devices. Chapter Vaio believes that devices should be focused on designers, photographers and artists, that is, the audience, which has traditionally been committed to product Apple. Ota also said that among Windows-based device, no one can offer an alternative to laptops from Cupertino.
This differs from the policy pursued by Sony, trying to make a massive Vaio brand. Ota pointed out that Sony was more worried about market share Vaio, rather than the profitability of the business.
Moreover, Ota expects that this fiscal year, Vaio operating profit, in spite of the losses that have been recorded in the past.
Today Vaio sells devices that have been developed in the walls of Sony. In the US, the company released a new device Vaio Z Canvas - is a tablet with a snap-on keyboard and 12.3-inch display resolution 2560h1704 points. As the processor uses a high-performance chip Intel Core i7. On the orientation of the device on the artists said stylus, which is inserted in the loop on the side of the device.
The cost of the tablet, which went on sale in Japan in May, is 200 thousand. Yen (about $ 1,600). In the United States Vaio plans to start selling at $ 2199 - that's about twice as high as in the days when the company focused on the mass market.
In addition to the Vaio notebooks also started production of robots Palmi, developed by Fujitsu. It is established in the same factory, which formerly produced Sony Aibo robots are made and where and laptops. In the future Vaio plans to produce more and wearable accessories and devices for production. Ota expects 2017 fiscal year earnings from these devices compare to profits from the notebook.
Vaio - a strong brand, and users do not have time to forget him, he told "Gazeta.ru" a leading iKS-Consulting analyst Maxim Savvatin. "He is in isolation from Sony was rather promoted," - he said. According to the expert, Vaio products can be popular, and with good distribution, advertising and marketing thought-out brand strategy be able to return to their former positions with minimal effort.
"The only question is how the sale will be organized logistically," - said Savvatin.
He also noted that as a sales channel stores Microsoft will not be able to be a great help in the implementation of the company's products as the retail network, the company is not that big. «Vaio will need to build a partnership with the stronger players in the retail sector. In addition, it is not clear how retail will be built in other countries besides the United States, "- he added.
