The results of our research suggest that Sony's sales decline was not caused by the economic chaos observed last year. The economic issues simply made Sony's underlying issues more apparent. These include lack of desired innovation and increased competition. The interviews conducted provided a lot of information on potential consumers' purchasing motivations and strategies for purchasing a television. However; More research is needed to get a clear idea of ​​the issues and their specific effects on Sony's sales.Secondary ResearchStacked header. -Christopher Thacker 03/20/10 5:15 PM Literature Review While researching Sony Corp, our company noted that there had been a significant decline in net sales for the fiscal year ending March 2009. According to Sony's annual report (2009), their sales and operating revenues decreased by 12.9% compared to the previous year. According to Datamonitor (2009), this represents a net loss of $956.2 million – certainly a considerable sum even for a company as large as Sony. In his letter to shareholders, Howard Stringer states: “The global economic crisis combined with the pronounced strength of the yen has significantly impaired our operating results…” (Sony Annual Report, 2009, p. 9). But was it really the poor economy that was the basis of their loss? An analyst from Standard and Poor's (2010) states that the outlook for the consumer electronics sector is not as strong as in the past, driven by weak consumer spending and a lack of innovative products. It also said demand for flat-screen TVs appears to be near saturation levels, pushing demand and sales even lower. If the market is really heading towards saturation, it is even more c...... middle of paper ...... or preferring one television to another. Predictably the answers varied; however, interestingly, the few consumers who owned more than two televisions both owned Sonys and these were their most recent purchases. Are you satisfied with the current performance of your TV brand? Once they own the product and have lived with it for a while, they have a different outlook than when they purchased the product. Surprisingly, regardless of the actual brand, everyone said yes. Perhaps, because everyone researched their products first and knew the pros and cons beforehand, there were no surprises that would make them dissatisfied with their purchase later. The interviews conducted provided a lot of information about potential consumers, purchasing motivations and strategies for purchasing a television. However; More research is needed to get a clear idea of ​​the issues and their specific effects on Sony's sales.