Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai has vowed to help turn Sony around financially after years of losses at the company’s AGM. In spite of a very negative atmosphere at the shareholder meeting – with Hirai apparently forced to ask hecklers to quiet down on several occasions – the CEO and other key executives were kept on at the head of the company. According to Hirai, 2014 will be Sony’s year, pledging that this year will be the year to fix Sony’s overall losses and “money-losing structure”. “The best way to build our future is for Sony to remain Sony, and realize our motto to become a company that inspires and fulfils your curiosity,” Hirai told shareholders, who in spite of hostility voted over 9-1 in favour of the company’s proposal.
Sony’s President and Chief Executive Officer Kaz Hirai promised shareholders he’ll fix the company’s “money-losing structure” this fiscal year. Hirai made the promise at Sony’s annual general shareholders’ meeting in Japan, where he was heckled by attendees. The Associated Press reported he had to ask hecklers to keep quiet multiple times as he answered questions regarding his performance in leading the company, engineers quitting Sony, poor product quality, and his plans for “wearable” products, like SonySmartWear. “The best way to build our future is for Sony to remain Sony, and realize our motto to become a company that inspires and fulfills your curiosity,” Hirai said, adding that Sony engineers had great ideas which will become real products. So far, the PlayStation 4 has done well for Sony. The last official worldwide numbers put the PS4 at 7 million units sold (ahead of Xbox One’s 3 million units), and according to the NPD Group’s May sales report, it’s been the top-selling video game system in the United States for the last five months.
