Walkman

1st Case Analysis

Sony Corporation: Walkman

Synopsis:

Sony group is a Japanese multinational corporation based in Japan and is the parent company of Sony Corporation, which is one of the business units of the company. Sony group segmented its business into four operating aspects – Electronics, Motion pictures, Music and Financial Services. Sony Corporation is focused on the Electronics industry and is one of the major manufacturers of electronic products for the consumer and professional market.

What is marketed? – Walkman

Product

On 1979, Sony Corporation introduced Walkman, a gadget that provides high-quality playback through lightweight earphones attached to a lightweight cassette player worn on the belt or around the neck.

Price

The retail list prices of Walkman Models I and II are about $100 and $180, respectively in the United States. Competitive products with a range of features are sold in essentially the same retail outlets at list prices ranging from $75 to $250. Price cutting however was very common.

Promotion

Walkman in use in public places was a form of promotion in itself and helped to create an ever-spiraling demand. Special events were planned for young people who were encouraged to try the Walkman while enjoying all kinds of activities in public places.

Place

Walkman was popular worldwide and from the case it can be implicitly seen that Sony Corporation utilized channels to bring the product to the consumers. They were sold in a variety of retail outlets.

What kind of demand?

Walkman was a big hit when it was released. There was a full demand for the product that consumers buy the product that is being put into the marketplace. In 1980 the company shipped 550,000 of these gadget to the world.

There was even a time when there was an overfull demand when Walkman promoted itself just by being used in public places. However, Sony Corporation did not monopolize the demand for the product since there were at least...