Forum > General discussions > Rumours > SE-09-Portfolio

On 2009-08-16 06:24:59, synn wrote:



I guess that'd make a lot of our japanese friends douches, eh?

On 2009-08-16 16:39:49, se_love wrote:
I personally love the thought of an SE stand only because I wouldn't want it any other way then cheap plastic from the people making the phones. And this would be like a Japanese phone only it can't play the super special awesome stuff they have there. Damn you gameloft where are our rpgs?

By Tarmo Virki, European technology correspondent
HELSINKI (Reuters) - Sony Ericsson on Monday entrusted the head of Ericsson's U.S. technology division with the task of leading the struggling cellphone maker back to profit and reversing a sharp decline in market share.

The 50-50 venture said it had named Bert Nordberg as chief executive to replace Dick Komiyama, who retires at the end of the year.

Sony Ericsson has reported steep losses in past quarters and seen its market share slip to below 5 percent, sparking market speculation of a possible breakup.

"I would go for increased market share and restoring profitability," Nordberg told Reuters when asked where he hoped to see the company in one to two years. He said he would pursue ongoing restructuring and step up efforts to develop "smash-hit" products.

Nordberg, 53, currently Executive Vice President at Ericsson and head of the firm's Silicon Valley business, said he was extremely confident in the support from both parent companies and that turning to profit "can't be too far away."

The firm also said Sony CEO Howard Stringer would become new board chairman on October 15, replacing Ericsson head Carl-Henric Svanberg, who will become chairman of BP Plc in January.

"The management changes seem to signal that Sony and Ericsson are prepared to continue working together. That will be reassuring news for Sony Ericsson's staff and customers," said Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics.

Of the top five cellphone vendors, Sony Ericsson saw the sharpest drop in sales from the first quarter.

The firm has missed such mobile phone trends as full keyboards, Internet browsing and navigation, and research firm Gartner said last week that Sony Ericsson's market share fell to just 4.7 percent globally.

"BIG DECISIONS TO MAKE"

"Nordberg has some big decisions to make from day one," said Ben Wood, head of research at CCS Insight.

"Sony Ericsson needs to streamline its mobile software strategy and further reduce its dependence on mid-tier feature phones while working to restore profitability in the toughest economic climate the mobile phone industry has ever seen."

Sony Ericsson is known for its phones focusing on music and imaging, but so far it has lacked a strong offering of smartphones.

Nordberg said he would look for a strategic revamp of the firm's product portfolio.

"In this industry you need smash-hit products," he said

Nordberg has been with Ericsson since 1996, prior to which he worked with companies including Data General Corp. and Digital Equipment Corp.

In July, Sony Ericsson posted a pretax loss of 283 million euros ($400 million), and said the rest of the year would be difficult, with the overall market to shrink at least 10 percent.

"I think it is an effect of them needing a bit of a fresh start, some new blood. In addition to the fact that Sony Ericsson has not performed particularly well during the last year and a half," said Greger Johansson from Redeye.

Shares in Ericsson were 0.5 percent lower at 66.90 crowns by 1214 GMT (8:14 a.m. EDT), outperforming a DJ Stoxx European technology index down 1.7 percent.

($1=.7073 Euro)

(Additional reporting by Brett Young in Helsinki and Victoria Klesty in Stockholm, editing by Will Waterman, John Stonestreet and Karen Foster)

London, UK – 17 August, 2009 – Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications today announces that Bert Nordberg, currently Executive Vice President of the Ericsson Group and Head of Ericsson Silicon Valley, will join Sony Ericsson as Co-President effective 1st September. Mr. Nordberg will work closely with Sony Ericsson President Hideki (Dick) Komiyama and the entire senior management team to effect a smooth management transition. Mr. Nordberg, who will be based at Sony Ericsson’s global headquarters in London, will assume the role of President, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, on 15 October, and Mr. Komiyama will retire from the company at the end of the year.

In addition, Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, CEO and President, Sony Corporation, and a member of the Board of Sony Ericsson, will become Chairman of the Board of Sony Ericsson on 15 October. In his role as Chairman of the Board of Sony Ericsson, Mr. Stringer will succeed Carl-Henric Svanberg, President & CEO of Ericsson.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Dick Komiyama said, “The Sony Ericsson transformation programme I began over a year ago is more than half way completed, and I am pleased with what we have achieved so far. I believe it is the right time for me to begin transferring the leadership of the company to a person who is able to complete the transformation programme and lead Sony Ericsson through its next phase of development. I will continue to be involved with Sony Ericsson’s business until the end of the year and look forward to working closely with Bert to ensure a smooth handover.”

Carl-Henric Svanberg, President & CEO of Ericsson, and Chairman of the Board of Sony Ericsson, said, “In the two years he has been at Sony Ericsson Dick Komiyama has made some very important changes to their organisation and laid the foundation for the company’s turn-around. Although we are sorry to see him leave Sony Ericsson, we fully respect his decision.” He added, “Bert Nordberg has a strong track-record in the area of business realignment and was instrumental in the transformation of Ericsson in the years 2002 – 2003. I am confident he will be able to build upon the foundation Dick has created and lead the final stages of Sony Ericsson’s transformation. Bert also brings a wealth of experience in telecommunications network infrastructure and in sales, where he has been a key driver of Ericsson’s overall growth from 117 billion to more than 200 billion SEK today.”

Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, CEO and President, Sony Corporation, said, “We want to thank Dick Komiyama for his leadership in spearheading critical changes at Sony Ericsson over the past two years. The company is now well-positioned to capitalise on growth opportunities and return to profitability. Dick has made an enormous contribution to Sony Ericsson in a short time, as well as to Sony Corporation in the years before that. We wish him all the best in his retirement. We are delighted that Bert Nordberg is joining the company as a strong and worthy successor to Dick. Bert brings tremendous experience and enthusiasm to his new role, and with his strong telecommunications background he will lead Sony Ericsson into a very bright future.”

Bert Nordberg said, “I am very pleased to be joining Sony Ericsson. With the growing importance of open source platforms, applications and content in the mobile handset industry, I believe the experiences I have gained in Silicon Valley will be very relevant to Sony Ericsson’s business going forward. I look forward to working with Dick Komiyama in the transition phase and getting to know the rest of the Sony Ericsson management team.”

On 2009-08-17 20:13:06, jack00 wrote:
the problem is definitely NOT their designers. designers only do what they are told to do.
sony ericsson currently lacks the ability to react on market demands. this could be due to several reasons, but its probably the management. management is NEVER keen to introduce innovations to a market, because innovations always mean a high risk. so a company at the edge of distinction is even more at risk to fail then a healthy company, because managers only have their financial statistics and charts in their head. i mean, they can not be blamed cause thats their job. but sony ericsson would need a couple of people who actually LEAD the company into the future and not just around the next corner. sony ericsson needs a long term strategy plan which involves a strong and distinctive product design and multimedia user experience strategies. part of the user experience is also to allow the user to be part of sony's entertainment portfolio.
yet its not to late, just look at HTC they build up their credibility just in a few years - but it needs to be done.