Sony Corporation

Sony Corporation is an international electronics and media company with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. Employing 167,900 people worldwide the company produces audio and video products, televisions, information and communications products, semiconductors and a wide range of other electronic components (Sony Corp, 2010).
The main business strategy Sony pursues is product differentiation. “Sony has always distinguished itself from competitors by claiming to give better products worldwide…thus Sony is able to charge a premium price in its market” (Vashisht, 2005, p.99).

The main parameters of product differentiation are specified by Vashisht as features, technological advancements, and quality. Accordingly, Sony enjoys a high level of customer loyalty among some people who use and appreciate advanced technology products and devices due to the fact that products offered by Sony always stand out because of their quality, extra features and design.

Most of the Sony products are among the popular in their relevant markets, and sell for premium prices due to their numerous advantages. For instance, in game console market PlayStation launched in 1994 effectively competed with Nintendo 64 that used to be a market leader even though PlayStation was offered in considerably higher prices. PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 that followed in later years were equally successful for above reasons.

Similarly, VIAO branded laptops and Bravia television sets were hugely successful in their respective computer and television markets despite being offered in much higer prices compared to most other brands. All these indicate to the fact that Sony Corporation is successfully undertaking its product differentiation strategy by offering high quality products for premium prices.

References

Sony Corporation, Hoover’s Profiles, Available at: http://www.hoovers.com/company/Sony_Corporation/crxxhi-1.html, Accessed January 3, 2011

Vashisht, K, 2005, A Practical Approach to Marketing Management,