Made in India: Sony joins the manufacturing revolution

Is Sony the next in a long line of manufacturing giants to join the Made in India initiative by moving its manufacturing operations to the country? The Made in India campaign, launched last year is gaining momentum at an astonishing pace with the likes of Samsung, Foxconn and Apple jumping on the bandwagon.

“Of course, thanks to Modi's strong initiatives, somehow we have to cope with the country's direction and strategy. We are in talks as to how we can support country's direction. At this point of time, we do not have any specific comment. We are seriously studying as how can we reply to PM's requirements,” said Sony India Managing Director Kenichiro Hibi.

However, he declined to share any information on time frame and investment in the new unit. When asked whether it can happen in next two years, he said: “Definitely yes, we would have to make something in such a time span.” At this moment, “we do not have any specific comment on it. But yes it is and we are thinking it very seriously,” he said.

Sony had closed its manufacturing facility in 2004 and now imports its products from China, Malaysia, Thailand, and Japan.

Sony is aiming for a 20 percent growth in sales in the current fiscal and expects a good contribution to come from non-metro places. Manufacturing in India could help make this target a reality.

“Up to last fiscal (FY 2014-15), we were having 20 percent overall growth. This fiscal it is also expected to be the same although it is a challenge,” he said.

Sony India had a turnover of Rs. 10,000 crores in 2014-15 and around 75 percent of its revenue came from Bravia range of TVs and Xperia range of mobile handsets. Sony India is the fourth highest contributor in the global sales of Sony Corporation.