Sony's profits tumbling

Sony's quarterly net profit plunges 95 percent as electronics division slides into red
TOKYO (AP) -- Sony said Thursday its net profit plunged 95 percent in the October-December quarter, as the holiday shopping season provided no respite for the struggling electronics giant and tepid sales of TVs, digital cameras and mobile phones hit its bottom line.
The Japanese manufacturing icon said its usually dependable electronics division posted its first-ever operating loss for the fiscal third quarter. It also reiterated its forecast for a net loss of 150 billion yen ($1.67 billion) for the full fiscal year through March -- its first loss in 14 years.
Sony Corp. said net profit shriveled to 10.4 billion yen ($115.6 million) in the third quarter from 200.2 billion yen a year earlier. Revenue fell 25 percent to 2.15 trillion yen from 2.86 trillion yen.

Sony Global - Press Release

(January 29, 2009). Consolidated Financial Results for the Third Quarter ... Statement Regarding Media Story on Sony's Financial Results ...


Earnings Release Download PDF

Strong Black Friday sales up a surprisingly 3.0 Percent compared to 2007.

Not all bad News, nov 30th. Strong Black Friday sales up a surprisingly 3.0 Percent compared to 2007.
Retailers have to slash prices and offer huge discounts.
News from ShopperTrak RCT Corp., a Chicago-based research firm that tracks sales at more than 50,000 retail outlets. Black Friday sales are not always the best indicator for the rest of the Christmas shopping season but give reason for some cautious optimism early in the season this time.


29 Nov RETAILERS FACE MELTDOWN AS CHRISTMAS NEARS
The economic bloodbath that has impacted all sectors of the American economy hit retailers hard during the last month, just as they were gearing up for the make-or-break Christmas selling season.
Of the 26 retail categories surveyed by America’s Research Group for our Consumer Mind Reader™ survey, only three saw increases over last year’s shopping levels.
Discount stores enjoyed consumer spending levels rising from $195.80 last year to $203.95 in this survey. Consumers also spent more at national department stores and hardware stores.
Categories that were especially hard-hit by the recessionary habits included apparel stores, catalog sales, and toy and jewelry retailers. Even the Internet, which had remained steady and even showed some growth, was not immune to the economic woes. Web shopping levels declined steeply, from $46.22 a year ago to $27.73 in this survey.

Ouderwetse retail legt het loodje ("Woolies" over and out)

In de UK -waar de recessie nu echt begint te bijten- is gisteren het 99 jaar oude Woolworth (Woolies) failliet gegaan.De schulden bedragen £ 385 miljoen ( € 455 miljoen.) De koers van de aandelen is dit jaar met 99% gedaald. Dat betekent tienduizenden ontslagen en 815 filialen met sluiting bedreigd. Grote gevolgen bij de toeleverings bedrijven en in de onroerend goed (winkels) sector.
Volgens analisten is dit de eerste maar zeker niet de laatste in een reeks, na de Kerst worden de volgende tikken verwacht.
De moedermaatschappij van Woolworth blijft voorlopig intact.
MFI, woninginrichting etc moet er ook mee stoppen.

Zie: Woolworth into administration