The Wall Street Journal-20080212-Sony Ericsson Pursues More Of U-S- Market

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Sony Ericsson Pursues More Of U.S. Market

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Sony Ericsson's new chief executive, Hideki Komiyama, says he is stepping up the company's efforts to boost its small U.S. presence but said he wouldn't be interested in Motorola Inc.'s handset business.

Mr. Komiyama, who took over as CEO in November and previously had worked for many years in the U.S. while at Sony Corp., said the company is adding U.S.-focused products to its handset range and will add hundreds of U.S.-based engineers over the next couple of years as part of the company's effort.

On Sunday, Sony Ericsson announced its first handset to use Microsoft Corp.'s operating-system software in an effort to better reach American consumers, who are familiar with Microsoft's software from using it on their computers. The handset, called the X1, is due to be launched in the second half of this year.

Mr. Komiyama says Sony Ericsson's U.S. position has been weak because the company started to define its strategy for that market only a couple of years ago. "We are introducing ourselves much more aggressively," he said in an interview.

Sony Ericsson, a joint venture between Japan-based Sony and Sweden's Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson, is the world's fourth-largest cellphone maker by market share. Mr. Komiyama, a native of Japan, has spent much of his career with Sony abroad, including in the U.S., and uses the Western nickname "Dick."

As for whether Sony Ericsson would potentially be interested if Motorola decided to sell its handset business, Mr. Komiyama said a major hurdle would be managing Motorola's brand as well as Sony Ericsson's. Motorola, facing pressure from activist shareholder Carl Icahn, recently said it might spin off or sell its flagship handset division.

"The idea is not attractive," Mr. Komiyama said. "Motorola itself is a strong brand. Changing Motorola to something else would be killing this brand."

There also are the distractions of a large merger to consider, he added. "Our U.S. strategy is already set on organic growth," he said.

Mr. Komiyama faces several challenges, including expanding Sony Ericsson to compete with the industry's heavy hitters as well as new competitors such as Apple Inc. He also has to juggle the push into low-priced phones for emerging markets while expanding the company's range of very high-end phones.