The Changing Face Of Sony
Sony Hawaii president Don Kim is busy increasing sales and hiring new employees for the company - and working to keep the Sony Open here in the lslands
By Chad Pata
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The Kim family from left: Aaron
Eberhardt (son-in-law), Don, Caroline,
Don Junior, Angela, Nelli and Lori
But presidency with Sony Hawaii is not just all about sales, during the month of January it is also about golf. This year marks the eighth of Sony’s sponsorship of the former Hawaiian Open and they have just reupped for four more years here at Waialae Country Club.
This comes as quite a coup for Kim as his much bigger sister offices on both the East and West coast of the U.S. have been clamoring for the tournament to move closer to them. After all, as proud as Kim may be of $200 million in sales last year, those are pennies to a company that sold $67 billion in the last fiscal year.
Hawaii has that advantage that, however hard they try, the other stores cannot compete: proximity to the Motherland.
“All the Japanese customers like to be able to fly here nonstop,” says Kim. “They come here and they have all the different kinds of food available, the friendly people and the beautiful weather.”
While this early season tournament is being plagued by the no-shows of the big names like Woods and Mickelson (both of whom also missed the Mercedes Championship in Maui last week), it does have the biggest name in Hawaii: Michelle Wie.
This is Wie’s third time at the Open, the first two times she missed the cut, and no one is rooting for her harder than Sony, which has invested $5 million a year in the 16-year-old. To be the first woman to make the cut in a PGA event is exactly the splash Sony was betting on when they brought her aboard.
“We are really hoping the third time is the charm for her,” says Kim, who despite a shared heritage and home state had nothing to do with her recruiting. “But it isn’t just an ad for Sony, this tournament is being broadcast is 140 countries. It is a great ad for Hawaii as well.”
Another attraction they have added this year is the inclusion of country champions from the South Pacific. This year through corporate exemptions they are bringing over Thaworn Wiratchant from Thailand and Shiv Kapur from India.
Kim discusses the Sony Open schedule
with Rhoda Zane
These names may not mean much to American viewers, but this is a rare opportunity for these countries sports heroes to compete with the world’s best. And as Kim readily points out, it will have a lot more of those 1 billion Indian viewers tuning in to see their countryman in beautiful Hawaii.
The promotion of the company is always the thrust of any event like this, but Kim is proud that Sony also raises money through the event for charity. As a member of the board of the Friends of Hawaii Charities, he claims they have raised over $5 million for charity in the first seven years of the tournament.
The money is raised through the sale of Skybox seats for the event as well as fees paid to play during the pro-ams which are held on Monday and Wednesday. Kim, a 16 handicap himself, hopes to be able to play in the pro-am on Monday, though he is not particular on which pro he gets to play beside.
“Anyone I get to play with I can learn so much from, everyone on the PGA is so good these days,” says Kim, who could give his pro helpful course tips having been a member at Waialae since 1989. “But I am getting older now so I don’t dare swing like they do or I might hurt my back.”
But once the white flags of Waialae are put away for another year, Kim must continue to help Sony regain its previous form. Once the trailblazer in electronics, it is now struggling to keep up with the field.
The personal music device of the ’80s was Sony’s Walkman. It has now given way to Apple’s ipod in the new millennium and despite efforts with their own MP3 player, they continue to lose ground.
Another death blow was dealt by Microsoft with their XBox 360. Sony did not have their new player, the PlayStation3 ready in time for Christmas and Microsoft could barely keep their gaming system on the shelves. It is being hailed for its user friendliness, something Sony has struggled with in recent years.
Kim insists the future looks bright as they introduce their new LCD televisions this spring, with the behemoth 82 inch Bravia topping off the market entries. Also, despite its late arrival to market, experts are saying that when the first PS3 hits the market with its “cell chip” technology, that it will be one of the 50 fastest computers on the market.
“The reason I like Sony is that they judge a person on merit,” says Kim. “I have increased sales and profits and have helped them continue to be good corporate citizens.”
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