Wall Street JOurnal, Nov 1, 2012

choi

(1) Kana Inagaki and Juro Osawa, Panasonic Beats a Retreat as Green Energy Bets Flop. (title in print)
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20121031-709857.html

Quote:

"Kazuhiro Tsuga, who took over as Panasonic's president in June, said teh company plans to scale back manufactuering in Japan, stop selling mobile phones overseas, and curb investment in solar panels and rechargeable batteries.

"Japanese firms can't match Samsung Electronics Co's manufacturing might or marketing dollars, nor can they replicate the brand cache of Apple Computer Inc.

Note: Katsuhiro TSUGA  津賀 一宏

(2) Melissa Korn, Shanghai School Vies With Top Programs.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB ... 87142775102994.html
(China Europe International Business School)

My comment: If you are not an MBA, you need not read it.

choi

Hiroko Tabuchi, Japan’s Electronics Behemoths Speak of Dire Times Ahead; After the boom years, wounds from nissed opportunities and huge bets gone wrong. New York Times, Nov 2, 2012.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/0 ... ificant-losses.html

Quote:

(a) "In the most dire warning, Sharp forecast on Thursday a 450 billion yen ($5.6 billion) full-year loss and warned that it had “material doubts” about its ability to survive.

On the same day, Panasonic’s shares lost a fifth of their value in Tokyo after the company forecast a 765 billion yen ($9.6 billion) annual net loss from write-downs in its solar-power, battery and mobile handset businesses.

And Sony, perhaps the best positioned of the companies, posted a net loss of 15.5 billion yen ($194 million) for the quarter on Thursday and warned of falling sales in almost every product it sells.

(b) "While Sharp is in the most serious trouble, the three companies’ woes are similar at the core.

"All three make good quality, even cutting-edge products — but so do their overseas competitors, usually at lower prices. None of the three have managed to generate the brand pizazz of Apple, or the marketing muscle of Samsung Electronics. In addition, a stubbornly strong yen continues to sap their competitiveness, while Japan’s territorial dispute with China has hurt sales there.

Note:
(a) Takashi OKUDA, Sharp's chief executive  奥田 隆司 社長
(b) Kameyama  三重県 亀山市
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kameyama,_Mie