Sony Mobile's Xperia line hasn't had the best time in the smartphone space with low-cost high-performance Android devices flooding the market at razor-thin margins. Companies are neck-and-neck as they vie for consumers' attention, and one false step can cost them big time. This is probably why the company's "Premium Standard" series has met its demise and, as a result, the Japanese company will be discontinuing its flagship-like-but-not-really devices given poor sales.
The Xperia X and X compact devices, launched last year, were a part of this category. The idea was to bring a flagship-like experience on a phone that doesn't cost as much. However, underpowered specs and a still-steep price presumably played spoilsport and, in turn, Sony failing to meet its target sales outside of Japan. The company confirmed the news at its 2017 Investor Day claiming to focus on the flagship and mid-range devices.
The sales target in Japan for the range met with an 85% achievement rate but, it could not translate the same success worldwide. Outside the country, a paltry 31% of its target was met equating to a dismal global performance of 43%.
The company now intends to "regain lost market share in FY2016" by improving sales operations and leveraging Sony technologies in markets where they can make a mark to maintain profitability in 2017.
The corporation also talked about the importance of selling its devices in key markets such as North America where a huge marketing investment is required and India, where people prefer low-cost, high-performance devices. So long, Premium Standard.
Source: Xperia Blog
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