Sony Mobile USA has had a change of personnel at the very top according to a report from Re/code. After making very little headway in the US, Kunihiko Shiomi quietly took over as President in January 2016 from Ravi Nookala. Shiomi was previously the head of Sony Mobile US development and the company clearly felt a change in direction was needed to try in get some traction in the North American market, something the company has never got right, despite carrying the well-known brand name.
As part of the change, Sony Mobile’s US offices have also moved from Atlanta to the San Francisco Bay Area. This has also led to a number of job losses, with the number of overall employees in San Francisco expected to be lower than Atlanta. Sony has typically sold unlocked Xperia devices into the US, but often, months later than seen elsewhere in Asia/Europe. The company also does not have the strongest relationships with the US carriers, with T-Mobile picking up the Xperia Z3, but Verizon canning the Xperia Z4v before it even hit shelves. The company has a marginal position in the US and it will be interesting to see how it can start to build share in what is a very competitive market.
Via Re/code.
Thanks Ryan!
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