He has also said that he anticipates a shakeout among retailers soon with Companies like Clive Peeters and Retravision tipped to struggle as the market flattens. He also said that retailers need to get closer to their customers with the introduction of marketing programs that allow them to collect sales and profile information. "This is a lost opportunity as we don't know enough about the needs of consumers". He said.
He added "At Sony we have done a lot of work on customer segmentation. In the past we have been guilty of having a very vertical hierarchy where now we have been able to split products into segments so that we can fulfil customers needs more easily. In the channel we are now working on identifying which is the right product for the retailer. What is good for JB Hi Fi may not be as good for Harvey Norman".
"At the moment there are retailers out there who are very much marketing driven and there are those that are struggling because of poor marketing practises".
One such Company according to Sony is Clive Peeters who shares are down 79% this year alone "We have sat down with them and tried to help them. We told them that they have to change their model and it is only now that they are starting to understand the need for change" said Rose.
