(Yicai Global) June 29 -- The new three-man team named to lead Sony China could point toward a future business development focus on innovative entertainment experiences at the Chinese arm of the Japanese consumer electronics firm.

Chairman Hiroshi Takahashi, who is also Sony Group’s deputy representative in China, is retiring and will be replaced on July 1 by Toshimoto Mitomo, Sony Group’s representative in China and a senior executive vice president at Sony, it was announced yesterday. Sony China President Takeshi Yoshida will assume the role of deputy representative.

From the résumés of the executive trio, which is completed by Chief Financial Officer Hiroshi Ito, Sony’s focus in China may expand to the innovative entertainment experience business from consumer electronics and hardware.

Mitomo, who was previously in charge of Sony’s global new business incubation, will lead the new management team to further tap the growth potential of existing businesses while exploring new opportunities, especially facilitating cooperation among Sony’s affiliates in China and the partnership between Sony and local firms, according to local market needs.

Yoshida, who knows the Chinese market well, had already taken charge of Sony China’s financial affairs several years ago and was promoted to president from vice president, Peng Xiandong, general manager at the home appliances division of big data firm GfK Zhongyikang, told Yicai Global. The executive reshuffle is a normal and cyclical adjustment in personnel, and the members of its new management team have worked in China for many years, Peng noted.

Sony’s share of the Chinese market for high-end televisions is stable, Peng added, noting that the firm seeks to continue its intensive farming strategy in China, despite the management changes.

In the fiscal year 2021, Sony’s operating profit soared to a record high of JPY1.2 trillion (USD8.8 billion). Operating profit from the electronics business jumped 66 percent to JPY212.9 billion (USD1.6 billion), buoyed by optimized product portfolios and high-end products strategy, with the Chinese market being one of the major contributor to its performance.

Sony’s strategies will focus on the virtual world and mobile travel, the Tokyo-based company said at a press conference to release its fiscal 2021 corporate strategy.

Editors: Liao Shumin, Futura Costaglione