Sony Restructures Consumer Sales, Marketing Operations
By Steve Smith -- TWICE, 4/3/2009
San Diego — Sony Electronics has restructured its consumer sales and marketing operations with Jay Vandenbree, president of Sony Consumer Sales, electing to leave the company.
Sony’s retail partners got the word in a letter earlier today, according to a company spokesperson. In the letter Stan Glasgow, president of Sony Electronics, said that Vandenbree, a 23-year Sony veteran who has held various sales positions with the company, took an early-retirement offer presented to employees.
The spokesperson said that based on Vandenbree’s election he would be leaving Sony probably within the next 30 to 60 days.
Sony did not reveal how many employees took advantage of the early retirement package, the spokesman. The early retirement program was originally mentioned when the Sony predicted a $1.1 billion loss for the fiscal year, ended March 31, back in January.
In the letter to retailers Sony said it had “listened to their feedback” concerning supply chain issues and vowed to do a better job to service and supply national, regional and specialty accounts and create “a world-class supply-chain operation,” the spokesperson said.
Mike Fasulo, executive VP who has headed Sony’s advertising and marketing operations, has been named to
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Mike Fasulo, executive VP |
head the new “Customer Platform” that combines consumer sales and marketing operations. Fasulo reports directly to Glasgow.
Ken Stevens, formerly zone VP for the central region, is now senior VP responsible for national accounts. Paul Spitale, former zone VP for the eastern region, is now senior VP for regional and specialty accounts.
As part of the new operation the previous sales zone structure of Sony Electronics’ consumer operation has ended.
Dennis McTighe, who has been western zone VP, will be leaving the company, according to industry sources.
Fasulo’s Customer Platform includes not only sales and marketing, but merchandising, advertising, sales training and education, in-store events, trade shows, customer service and customer care and related functions.
It supports the following four consumer business divisions:
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home — includes audio/video products such as TV, Blu-ray and will be headed by Hiro Kawano, who was previously head of Sony Style and e-commerce operations;
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information technology and portable audio — includes both those categories and will be headed by Mike Abary, who previously ran IT products;
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digital imaging — headed by Ted Okada, who has been involved in the category before with Sony; and
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media and applications solutions — to be run by Mike Lucas who was involved in this area prior to the restructuring.
The new structure will be fully operational by July when Sony will begin “a multi-faceted fulfillment strategy” that will get products to retail “with greater efficiency and speed,” a Sony spokesperson said, and all four division heads report to Glasgow.
Further details will be available soon, he added, and distributors will be used as part of the new program, “but none have been named as yet.”
Separately Randy Waynick, marketing senior VP for Sony Electronics’ home products division, is joining the company’s Consumer Of America operation that is described as “a unit of cross-category and new business initiatives” involving leading content and service partner strategies, the spokesperson said.
Waynick will spearhead work with network service providers, future marketing and new business opportunities.
Separately, Rick Clancy, long-time corporate communications senior VP and a TWICE.com blogger, is leaving the company as of June 1 as part of the early-retirement program.
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Well Now, when did Sony ever care about the little guy. It's all about the money and how many boxes go out the door. Sony America as like other Sales groups in the US will build a channel to distribute new product only to destroy that same channel when the product proves too popular or does not move enough product.
They have huge commitments to the factory back in Japan or Korea or China. As you have seen if the head of a group does not move enough boxes that person is given a choice leave or is fired. Happens in all parts of the Consumer and Pro Video divisions. There has not been a 6 month period were a reorganization has not happened at Sony in the last 13 years from top to bottom.
This is were quality of a reseller /installer does not matter to Sony it is what best fits the political landscape of Sony and its management at the time.
More Boxes means a bigger bonus to the management.
Don't count on Sony to help out. They have stripped the field of account managers so that upper management show a higher profit against costs. That is why you do not have the support you need and end up selling another product in its place.
Dave Smith - 2009-4-4 17:14:00 EDT -
I am a PERFECTIONIST Custom Installer and I have NEVER been able to sell "high quality" Sony products because their MANAGEMENT has refused to communicate or sell to small companies. It is obvious TO ME that "the best" installers are those that own their own small companies and that a manufacturer that raves about the high quality of their product (Sony for example) should create close, economically sound relationships with ISF - HAA certified custom installers. Hopefully today's Sony management team will see the benefit of working WITH THE BEST instead of with the BIGGEST.
Glenn Thomas - 2009-3-4 20:16:00 EDT -
As a long-time retailer I could point a finger at Sony's terrible job of filling their independent's orders for tv product in a timely manner. We lost many a sale and had to switch orders to another brand. Something I didn't like to do. Sony's TV product is the best as far as I was concerned and I hated having to recommend another product because of shipping delays. It's long overdue!
John Keyser - 2009-3-4 17:00:00 EDT -
I'm sure Customer Service execs were much too busy lately playing with org charts and fiefdom building, or, perhaps figuring out their early retirement package.
Things are about to get better I hear though. I read that SONY is looking at a new CRM package. I'm sure that will fix things up.
Todd Grainger - 2009-3-4 16:24:00 EDT -
The restructuring is long overdue, but I'm not optimistic for improvement.
Despite the general shift to iPods and other MP3 players, our company still sells a lot of basic Sony Walkman portable CD players to play music-on-hold for phone systems.
Starting last spring, the distributor that we bought them from was out of stock, and they didn't know when they'd get more.
I thought the logical move was to call Sony and ask them to recommend another distributor.
I went to the Sony website, and after 45 excruciatingly frustrating minutes I could not find the name of a person in the sales department for portable audio products. After another painful 15 minutes, I could not even find a phone number other than for tech support or public relations.
Finally, I went to 411.com, and found two listings for "Sony Electronics" in San Diego, and selected the listing with the more simpressive double-zero phone number. When it was answered, I rejected the automated attendant and reached a sympathetic but frustrated lady who was powerless to help me.
She had no listing by divisions, departments, products or areas of responsibility. She said she got lots of calls from unhappy people like me, but had no way to help us.
Why do they make it so hard to spend money?
If didn't matter if I wanted to spend $500 or $5 billion. Unless I knew a person's name, Sony could not take my money.
How much business does Sony lose because of this stupidity?
How many other companies are similarly screwed up?
Desperate to get 20 CD players for my waiting customers, I went back to the Sony website and began placing the order just like a retail customer. But when I found that there was no way to avoid paying the sales tax despite our company's resale certificate, and that shipping would cost A HUNDRED BUCKS, I bailed out.
I ended up getting them at Amazon.com. They cost 56 cents less each, and I avoided the sales tax, and two-day shipping was FREE.
Even though I am a legitimate dealer and have sent multiple emails to Sony, and posted public complaints on blogs, I still can't identify a distrib. I've been ordering my inventory from Amazon.com once a month.
Sony is pathetic. How do such smart products come from such a stupid company?
Michael N. Marcus - 2009-3-4 14:53:00 EDT
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