Sony Corp. has unveiled its latest multiyear business plan, including spinning off its 36-year-old Walkman portable music player unit to cut costs, but it is unclear whether the reforms will be enough to secure growth.
Kazuo Hirai, chief executive of the electronics and entertainment group, said Wednesday that Sony's restructuring is on course and that the company is heading for a new phase of sustainable growth in which it will target sectors with high profitability rather than pursuing sales growth in markets where it faces stiff competition.
Questions remain, however, about how it can turn around core units such as its TV and mobile phone operations, while analysts warn that the repeated spinoffs of businesses appear to contradict Hirai's resolve to rebuild the company as "One Sony."