President of Sony China, Hideki Kurita: Will expand direct sales stores

The e-commerce price war does not seem to have a significant impact on the channel strategy of the upstream suppliers. The physical stores will continue to be the focus of home appliance brand development. Yesterday, the newly appointed Sony (China) Co., Ltd. President Kurita Uchida made its debut. When interviewed by a small number of media, Hideki Kurita believed that e-commerce and physical stores will coexist for a long time. E-commerce may have advantages for consumers. However, there are deficiencies in sensory experience and information acquisition, and consumer trust is still insufficient. And Sony is stepping up efforts to expand the entity direct store, trying to promote the brand image through the overall solution.

The physical store experience effect is known to Sony's launch of its annual heavyweight 84-inch 4K (4x HD 1080 resolution) TV in China yesterday. “This kind of product with cutting-edge technology in terms of picture quality and sound quality can be experienced without real experience. Consumers can hardly obtain a feeling,” said Kurita Tokiki. It is very important to experience such products and obtain detailed information in physical stores.

As a global leader in audio-visual entertainment, Sony's position represents to a certain extent the attitude of suppliers in physical stores.

Kurita Tosakoshi commented on the recent e-commerce price war that consumer electronics products are increasingly focusing on Internet applications and integrated solutions. The e-commerce advantage is that they cannot replace physical stores in terms of convenience such as price comparison. In terms of satisfying the consumer experience and service needs, "in the Japanese market, mature consumer groups are still willing to make physical store experiential purchases as their first choice," said Kurita Toki.

According to his judgment, the e-commerce and physical stores will play their respective advantages and coexist for a long time. "The channel is not the primary consideration for consumers' shopping. Besides convenience, how to increase product reliability and obtain a good experience is of utmost importance."

Sony's aggressive expansion of physical stores does not mean that the physical store's strategy can remain unchanged. Previously, foreign brands that have long relied on Gome and Suning chain channels are adjusting their channels, and Sony is no exception.

This month, Sony opened the world’s largest and Sony’s first Sony Store’s direct-operated store in Guangzhou. This is Sony’s fourth direct-selling store in mainland China and will sell more than 1,000 Sony products.

This kind of channel model borrowing from the Apple Experience Store not only has Sony's strategic significance in brand promotion, but more importantly, Sony's product line and comprehensive solutions that customers can try in Sony's direct-operated stores can better meet its full scope. Azimuth entertainment experience, better enjoy the high added value of the Sony brand.

Kurita Toshiki revealed that Sony’s direct-operated stores will continue to expand, and will then open another three locations in Chengdu and Shanghai. The number of direct-operated stores in China will thus reach 7.