Comment: Boldness will make this giant nimble

There is no other company quite like Sony. Looking at this latest river of red ink, that’s a relief.

The Japanese are far too polite to do anything other than bow as Sir Howard Stringer hands over to Kazuo Hirai. But it must be tempting to ask questions about the legacy Stringer, who remains as chairman, has forged in his six years.

Sony makes much of its “four-screen” strategy — arguing it can lead the technology pack by producing everything from smartphones, tablets, personal computers and TVs. Layer on its movie-making arm and music venture which has Simon Cowell to thank for much of its income, and you can see how quickly Sony starts to look confused, not all-conquering.

In truth, Stringer, the foreigner brought in six years ago to right a generation of wrongs, had a Sisyphean task, made all the harder by a punishing travel schedule that saw him split his time between Tokyo, New York and every so often the family home in Oxfordshire.

Hirai should be far bolder if he wants to start giving Tim Cook at Apple some sleepless nights. In tellies, no one is winning. The margins are so thin that even Philips gave up last year. Closing down parts of Sony, rather than simply de-emphasising them, might be an altogether better idea if he wants to make it look nimble again.