Sony’s stock price fell below 1,000 yen recently for the first time since 1980 in a symptom of weak global markets and the company’s decline after huge success with the Walkman three decades ago says an Associated Press report.
Battered by competition from Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co, Sony has lost money for four straight years—and for eight years in its core television business.
A strong yen, which erodes overseas income, and natural disasters at home and in Thailand, a key manufacturing hub, have added to its woes.
Sony’s shares dipped to 990 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and closed at 996 yen. The Nikkei 225 stock average ended down 1.7 percent after U.S. hiring slowed sharply in May.
The company said it was first time that its stock price had traded below 1,000 yen since August 1980 — the year after it introduced the iconic Walkman portable cassette player to the world in 1979.
