Running Head: SHARP CORP: BEYOND JAPAN
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SHARP CORP: BEYOND JAPAN
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SHARP CORP: Beyond Japan
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This paper provides a detailed SWOT analysis of Sharp Corporation’s operations and businesses. Sharp Corporation is a multinational firm that is based in Japan and lies on the manufacturing industry. It entails a comprehensive view into the firm’s opportunities, strengths, weaknesses and potential threats.
Strengths
The diversification of a portfolio of a product is a significant component in any organization because it protects a firm against exposure risks. Therefore, the Sharp Corp is excellent concerning this aspect since it has diversified its product portfolio. The firm is concerned with designing as well as manufacturing a wide range of electronic goods from communication equipment, home appliances, consumer electronics and audio-video equipment (Dudovskiy, 2012). Further, the fact that it deals with manufacturing and supplying of electronic products, it has been able to balance its business which is consumer oriented.
The international market presence of Sharp Corp is relatively strong, in addition to its well-recognized brand. The firm has over 20 subsidiaries that operate in more than 25 countries across the world mainly North America, Europe, and Asia. With its international presence and market, Sharp Corp has been able to reduce its reliance on the Japanese market; the international sales in 2010 accounted for 39% in 2010 (Sharp Corp, 2013). Morover, Sharp Corp has strategic tie-ups with firms like Hon Hai Group, Samsung, and Qualcomm (Dudovskiy, 2012).
Weaknesses
Despite the fact that Sharp Corp has a relatively strong international market, the fact that Japanese market accounts for more than 60% of its sales, it means that the firm is largely dependent on the home market. This way, indulging in international market exposes its large portion of the market which is the Japanese market into risks (Dudovskiy, 2012). Also, compared to its major competitors like Toshiba and Sony, the company’s scale of operation is relatively small regarding revenue. This can be disadvantageous to Sharp Corp since its lack of scale may result in a poor bargaining power (Dudovskiy, 2012).
There is a general reduction in the sale of PCs. Thus, this may lead to a reduction of Sharp Corp’s revenue. In 2010, there was 4% reduction in revenue from Japan, 27.8% in America and 12.7% in Europe. This reduction in the profit margin may have a major negative impact on the firm’s financial position (Dudovskiy, 2012).
Potential Opportunities
There is a growing demand for PCs, consumer electronics and home appliances especially from the buyers who are first-time consumers of such products from the emerging economies such as India, China, Russia, and Brazil. This way, Sharp Corp has an opportunity to explore such markets thus expanding its international market presence (Dudovskiy, 2012).
The rapid growth of the mobile market in Asia that is considered the largest phone market in the world thus accounting for more than 40% of global mobile market is a good opportunity to Sharp Corp. This is because, with its already established and a strong market presence in this region, it will be able to reach more consumers (Dudovskiy, 2012). Besides, Sharp Corp has a potential opportunity for increasing its sales because of the good scope for the LCD screen market.
Potential Treats
Sharp Corp faces stiff competition from other electronic manufacturers such as Toshiba, Sony, and Samsung. Competition is regarding international market presence and scale of operation. More so, Apple emerging as a market leader in personal tablet and mobile phones market, Sharp Corp thus faces another competition. This way, with increased competition, the profit margins also reduces and also reductions in revenue returns (Dudovskiy, 2012).
There is an increasing need globally to protect the environment; thus, there is introduction of rules and regulations that will require firms to reduce consumption of energy, raw materials and emissions in the production of electronic devices (Dudovskiy, 2012). Sharp Corp faces risks from the constantly fluctuating Yen (Japan’s currency).
References
Dudovskiy, J. (2012). Sharp Corporation SWOT Analysis. Research Methodology. Accessed
April 14, 2016. http://research-methodology.net/sharp-swot-analysis/
