Competitive profile matrix (CPM):

The Competitive Profile Matrix (CPM) is a

tool that compares the firm and its rivals and reveals their relative
strengths and weaknesses. In order to better understand the external
environment and the competition in a particular industry, firms often
use CPM. The profile matrix identifies a firm’s key competitors and
compares them using industry’s critical success factors. The analysis
also reveals company’s relative strengths and weaknesses against
its competitors. As a result, a company can easily identify the areas it
should improve and the areas it should protect.
Key success weight SAMSUNG SONY APPLE
factor Rating Weighted Rating Weighted Rating Weighted
average average average
1-Brand image 0.07 3 0.21 3 0.21 4 0.28
2-Customer 0.1 4 0.40 3 0.30 4 0.40
loyalty
3-Innovation 0.08 3 0.24 3 0.24 4 0.32
4- R&D 0.07 3 0.21 4 0.28 4 0.28
5-Prices 0.05 2 0.10 3 0.15 3 0.15
6-Product quality 0.08 3 0.24 4 0.32 4 0.32
7-Affordability 0.07 3 0.21 3 0.21 3 0.21
8-Advertising 0.06 4 0.24 2 0.12 2 0.12
9-Financial 0.07 3 0.21 3 0.21 4 0.28
position
10-Product 0.08 3 0.24 3 0.24 2 0.16
expansion
11-Mangement 0.05 4 0.20 3 0.15 4 0.20
12-Growth 0.06 4 0.24 3 0.18 3 0.18
13-Sales 0.09 3 0.27 3 0.27 4 0.36
14-Opportunities 0.07 4 0.28 4 0.28 4 0.28
Total 1 3.29 3.16 3.54
CONCLUSION:
ANALYSIS From the matrix, we can interpret that the CPM of Apple is higher
than Samsung and Sony. Samsung is also close to Apple with average 3.29
SONY has to work to improve its marketing and advertising activities and
management. It also has to exploit its strong R & D and develop new products
with different range of prices to compete with its rivals.

BCG MATRIX:

BCG MATRIX The Boston Consulting group's product

portfolio matrix (BCG matrix) is designed to help with long-term
strategic planning, to help a business consider growth opportunities
by reviewing its portfolio of products to decide where to invest, to
discontinue, or develop products.

SONY has a highly diverse product portfolio. While some of them

have remained significant sources of profits for long periods, like its
Play Stations and Televisions, the time and consumer dynamics are
changing. As such, the company may need to liquidate or divest
some of its least profitable products as it did with SONY VAIO
laptops. It is the right time to analyze the company’s portfolio to
check out which of its products may need repositioning and which
ones are worth keeping.

The competition against SONY has kept growing fiercer, and its
growth now depends on the innovation and management of its
portfolio. SONY realigned its business in fiscal 2022 since the
company experienced a decline in sales across key product
categories. Some of the most profitable products like smartphones
and Televisions experienced a drop in sales in recent years caused
mainly by the growth in competition and the pandemic. However, its
new product segments have helped it build growth momentum. In this
matrix, we will see which of its products have succumbed to the
growing competition and become question marks or dogs from Cash
cows and Stars and which ones have raised from question marks to
become cash cows or stars.

SONY BCG Matrix:

QUESTION
MARKS ? STARS
1-Consumer electronics 1-Imaging and Sensing Solutions.
2-Audio systems 2-Movies.
3-Digital cameras 3-Music Releases.
4-Vision-S (automobiles)

CASH COWS
DOGS 1-Play Stations and gaming
1-Xperia Smartphones. software.
2-Televisions.

STARS:

The imaging and sensing solutions of SONY Corporation are the

leading stars in its product portfolio. Apart from being in a high growth
market, the company is also a market leader in this sector and owns
a large market share. The imaging and sensing solutions segment of
the company experienced stellar growth in fiscal 2022. It was also
why the company could successfully retain a lot of its growth
momentum and profitability. In contrast, many other profitable
product segments of the company experienced a significant decline.

Other major stars in the product portfolio of the company are SONY’s
movies and music businesses. While these segments’ growth rate
stalled during the pandemic, they will again start growing once the
impact of the pandemic is brought under control. Despite the
pandemic, these two segments experienced significant growth during
fiscal 2022. So, the growth rate of these two segments can
be superior after the pandemic, and the company also has a
significant market share in both these sectors. The market share of
SONY/Columbia pictures in the North American market, one of the
leading markets for movies globally, was 22.2% in 2022 compared to
11.7% in 2021.

CASH COWS:

SONY’s biggest Cash Cow is its PS5 hardware and gaming

software. While several of its consumer electronics products were
also its cash cows, their future seems to be bleak due to the heavy
competition and Chinese players’ entry. The Chinese brands sell
competing products at lower prices globally. In fiscal 2022, the sales
of PS5 hardware also dropped significantly, but it remained among
the company’s largest sources of revenue. The gaming segment of
the company remained its second largest source of revenue.

Apart from that, the television business of the company is also one of
its cash cows. While the company’s television business experienced
a decline in profitability in fiscal 2022, it remained one of the leading
revenue sources for the brand. Some years ago, SONY had more
cash cows, but now it has fewer of them since its consumer
electronics products like cameras and audio systems steadily met
declining sales.

QUESTION MARKS:

Several of SONY’s cash cows have become question marks in recent

years since their sales have kept dropping steadily due to the
growing competition and heavy price pressure. As a result, SONY’s
margins from these products have also kept shrinking. Its sales of
audio and video systems and digital cameras have kept dropping
steadily, and their future has grown bleaker with increasing
competition in the industry. SONY makes premium products and is
facing heavy price competition from the Chinese brands especially.
As a result, its share in these markets has kept dropping. SONY can
either increase its market share in these segments through higher
spending on research & development and marketing or will have to
liquidate some of these businesses in the future.

SONY’s new automobile project Vision-S is also a question mark.

Until SONY starts seeing some initial success in this area, it would
remain not easy to say if the company will be able to turn it into a
Star or cash cow.

DOGS:
SONY’s Xperia smartphones are experiencing higher competition
globally from many brands, including the Chinese, South Korean, and
American brands. As a result, their sales have kept falling year on
year. SONY’s revenue and profits from its smartphones have also
reduced significantly.

The main reason behind the declining sales of the Xperia

smartphones is the increasing competition, but apart from that, these
products’ premium prices are also a significant reason. SONY has
completely lost market share in the smartphone industry. Unless the
company can increase its market share through competitive pricing,
research, and development or marketing, it will need to divest its
smartphone business since it is also consuming its resources.

Overall, SONY’s business is in quite a good shape except for a few

products that seem to be losing their sheen in the face of increased
competition. The pandemic also affected the sales of SONY’s
PlayStation hardware and televisions. While SONY’s television
business is also experiencing reduced demand, it is still in a lot better
shape than SONY’s smartphone business. If SONY cannot resurrect
its smartphone business that has been losing its appeal among the
consumers who can buy Chinese smartphones with similar features
at much lower prices, it will be forced to divest its smartphone
business.

SONY’s imaging and sensing solutions business is its STAR. The

company holds the lion’s share in this industry. Its future in this
industry also looks great. The demand for SONY’s imaging and
sensing solutions from other smartphone makers strengthened in
fiscal 2022. The PS5 business of SONY, despite experiencing slower
demand in fiscal 2022, is still in good shape, and PS5 hardware is
the company’s cash cow apart from the SONY televisions. Due to the
rise of digital entertainment, the demand for televisions has been
shrinking. However, demand has not totally died out because people
still like to watch their favorite web series and programs on their
television sets. So the company can still milk its television business.
However, SONY televisions’ demand will continue to be affected as
Chinese and South Korean and the Japanese rivals of SONY
continue to release innovative models at lower prices. SONY’s
automobile endeavor’s success is not certain yet, but the picture will
become clear soon, and if it is a success, SONY might have another
Star or Cash Cow in its portfolio.