Sony: Akio Morita and Walkman Essay

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Sony Corporation: Walkman Sony introduced the Walkman at the end of 1979. In 1980 it shipped 550,000 of these gadgets worldwide, and in 1981 the figure was more than three times that number. At least twenty companies entered the market with similar products: The
Walkman and its competitors provide high-quality playback through lightweight earphones attached to a lightweight cassette player worn on the belt or around the neck. Sony management must now determine whether the walkman -type product will continue to be popular and how it should compete in this market. The Walkman was created by a young engineer who made it for fun. In time it was shown to Mr. Akio Morita, Sony's chairman, who adopted it for his personal use and enthusiastically served as the product development project leader, reducing to six months the time between planning the product arid its marketing instead of the usual one to two years. Product development and marketing ideas were obtained from high-school and university Students as they used and discussed the Walkman in a room .especially equipped for observation.

In Japan the Walkman virtually sold itself following special presentations for newspaper and magazine reporters. Many articles appeared in magazines, but few in newspapers. Special events were planned for young people, who were encouraged to try the Walkman while en joying all kinds of activities in public places, such as skateboarding, cycling, jogging, and skipping rope. In the United States the product has been used by people as they work, bicycle, drive,roller-skate, sun themselves, ski,converse and block out the
Sounds of the world. The Walkman in use in public places was a form of pro-motion in itself and helped to create an ever-spiraling demand that spread world-wide, as the Hula-Hoop had done twenty years earlier. The retail list prices of the Walkman Models I and II are about $100 and S5180, respectively, in the United, States.
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