September 26, 2018 – Hitachi Ltd.’s units said last night the Hitachi group will end sales of TVs under its own brand in Japan and sell those of Sony Corp. through its domestic sales channel in a deeper tie-up.
Hitachi Appliances Inc. and Hitachi Consumer Marketing Inc. said they will discontinue sales of its TVs under the Wooo brand in mid-October. But the decision does not affect its overseas operations, as the group will continue to sell TVs under its own brand outside Japan, a Hitachi Appliances spokesman said.
Since ending TV production on its own in 2012, Hitachi has outsourced TV output to other manufacturers.
The two units said the Hitachi group will beef up a tie-up with Sony, with a plan to sell Sony’s Bravia brand TVs at its some 4,000 stores across Japan.
They are also considering selling Sony’s Blu-ray players and recorders and home theater equipment, the two companies said.
The broader alliance between Hitachi and Sony comes as they are strengthening efforts to enhance competitiveness in the shrinking domestic home appliances market.
Under the expanded tie-up, Hitachi is looking to beef up its line-up of products with Sony’s TVs and possibly other audio equipment after scaling back its home appliance business. Sony, meanwhile, is seeking to capitalize on Hitachi’s wide sales network in Japan.
Hitachi and Sony have been cooperating in after-sales services for air conditioners in some parts of Japan since last year.