Sony has an "astonishing lack of ideas" because of a self-inflicted dilution of its own brand, according to a marketing professor.
Sony is currently struggling financially, and while the popular PlayStation brand remains a vital part of the company's future, it hasn't been enough to stem the company's dwindling revenue.
Hiroko Tabuchi of The New York Times said: "The reason is plain: Sony hasn't had a hit product in years." The company hasn't turned over a profit since 2008.
Sony, once an industry leader, now has a market value one-ninth that of Samsung Electronics, arguably its closest competitor.
Yoshiaki Sakito, a former Sony executive, said "it's almost game over" at Sony. "I don't see how Sony's going to bounce back now."
Tim Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management said that much of the reason for Sony's own recent financial failures has a lot to do with the love for its own brand.
"Sony is an example of what happens when a company falls blindly in love with its brand," said Calkins.
"Sony uses its brand on all sorts of products: televisions, cameras, computers, music players, digital book readers and toys. In a remarkable move, several years back Sony decided to use the brand on a movie studio and on a music label. Sony's high-end products carry the Sony brand. The low-end products carry the Sony brand, too."
Source: New York Times, Business Insider
By Gaetano Prestia - Tweet @Gaetano_Prestia
The end result is that Sony's brand has lost its meaning; it's been diluted.