Posted on: Tuesday, June 15, 2004

Sony goes upscale with new boutiques

By David Colker
Los Angeles Times

Gucci. Versace. Armani.

Sony?

Indeed. Electronics and entertainment giant Sony Corp. has joined the ranks of top-tier brands opening signature boutiques at malls in an effort to boost sales and awareness, especially among women.

Instead of haute couture, SonyStyle stores sell gadgets as varied as $20 clock radios and $20,000 plasma-screen televisions.

The retail settings are about as far as you can get from the sprawling warehouse-style stores that move most of Sony's merchandise. Blond wood paneling and large mirrors adorn the walls. Tucked among displays of pocket-size cameras and poster-size TVs are minimalist couches, area rugs and simulated fireplaces.

"It's not an intimidating environment," said Mike Fasulo, who oversees the SonyStyle chain of stores, in Boston and Houston and in Los Angeles and Santa Ana, Calif.; one will open in Palo Alto, Calif., next month. "It doesn't feel like a boys' club."

To that end, there's a crucial SonyStyle rule: no sports on TV.

The stores are part of a continuing restructuring at the Tokyo-based company famous for the Walkman and the Trinitron.

Recently, Sony's electronics division has stumbled, losing $315 million on worldwide sales of $43.7 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31.

So Sony is following the example of the fashion industry, which has long used boutiques to showcase products that might get lost among competitors in regular retail displays.

"They need to make a direct connection to the consumer to exhibit the entire package," said retail analyst Marshal Cohen of NPD Group. "Without that, they are just one of several brands at a retailer."

Although raising brand awareness is key, Fasulo said, the SonyStyle shops have to support themselves.

"We are not in the business of losing money," he said.