Sony’s Jobin Joejoe on how customer focus and innovation are powering its regional growth

Sony’s influence as a global entertainment and technology powerhouse is deeply felt across the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia, a region spanning more than 70 countries with vastly different consumer needs.

At the helm is Jobin Joejoe, MD for Sony MEA, who is steering the company through this complexity with a dual focus on customer-centricity and artificial intelligence.

From tailoring products like large-screen televisions and music-focused devices to market-specific demands, to embedding AI into televisions, cameras, and headphones, Sony is positioning itself at the intersection of creativity and technology.

In this conversation with Gulf Business, Joejoe discusses the company’s latest innovations, regional growth priorities, and how customer insights and AI are shaping Sony’s next chapter.

How would you describe Sony as a company and its impact across your customers and business?

Sony has always been a creative entertainment company, providing premium audio-visual experiences. Our customers are truly at the heart of everything we do. We meticulously study their preferences and behavior to develop technology and products that not only meet but anticipate their needs. Everything at Sony starts with the customer and understanding their needs.

With a remit covering 70 countries, how does Sony track customer feedback and roll it out across products? How long does this process usually take?

We operate a robust hub-and-spoke model from our regional HQ here in Dubai, which serves the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia.

We collaborate closely with our business partners and key retailers, who effectively act as our “eyes and ears on the ground,” gathering invaluable feedback from multiple countries. This collected data is then fed into our CMK (customer, market, knowledge) programmes, where we meticulously analyse customer preferences and needs, categorizing them into specific segments. This process allows us to understand what kind of product best fits each customer segment and respond with agility.

While the exact duration varies, our go-to-market model is designed for flexibility and speed in adapting to new trends. For example, Dubai often acts as a showcase market for trends like large-screen TVs due to high OTT content consumption, while Africa, a region where “everybody loves music,” emphasizes music-focused products, and we tailor our offerings accordingly.

Which consumer electronics trends are you seeing in the region, beyond just large-screen TVs?

Beyond the booming demand for large-screen televisions driven by OTT content consumption, we observe diverse trends across our vast region. For instance, Dubai is often a showcase market, with trends emerging here before rolling out to other Middle Eastern countries. Similarly, South Africa can be a showcase for the southern African continent, while Nigeria and Kenya serve as reference points for West and East Africa respectively.

We launched unique products like the Reon Pocket Pro, a personal cooling and heating device specifically tailored to regional needs for the harsh summer months, which has seen selective but strong demand in markets like Japan, Singapore, Europe, and our region. In Africa, music-focused products dominate, representing a unique market where the audio market is much bigger than television, a trend not seen in most parts of the world, except perhaps Latin America.

We adapt our offerings and use influencers for different products accordingly, from sound products and cameras in Africa to televisions and all product categories in the Middle East.

 

How is AI integrated into Sony products today, and what’s Sony’s broader AI strategy?

For Sony, AI is not a new concept; it has always been a part of our DNA. In fact, one of our founders spoke about AI and driverless cars back in the 1950s. Today, AI is integral to most of our product designs. Our BRAVIA Cognitive Processor XR, for instance, goes beyond conventional AI to replicate what the human eye can see and what the human ears can hear.

Our cameras utilise AI technology to identify subjects like people, animals, or moving objects, automatically adjusting settings for optimal output. Even our noise-canceling headphones have AI chips to better understand the environment” and optimise sound for the best experience.

Internally, we’ve recently developed our Sony Enterprise LLM, a secure internal AI platform that enables employees to responsibly study generative AI and improve the literacy of AI within the organisation.

This is part of our broader initiative to ensure everybody is empowered to make the best out of it, positioning Sony at the forefront of AI innovation for the future.

What have been key product launches recently, and what can we expect next from Sony in terms of product diversification?

This year, we’ve significantly strengthened our BRAVIA lineup, launching three new series primarily focused on mini-LED and OLED technologies, including models up to 98 inches, truly aiming to replicate a cinema environment in the living room of our customers. This aligns with our tagline, “cinema is coming home”.

Immediately after, we launched three models of speakers under our Ult Power Sound Series brand, catering to both on-the-go music listeners and those desiring powerful sound for house parties.

Our most recent launch was our flagship WH-1000XM6 headphones, which have been an instant hit as the most valued premium noise-canceling headphones today in the market.

And, of course, the Reon Pocket Pro, our unique personal cooling and heating device. We have many more launches to come, as we continually focus on customer needs.

How did 2024 shape up for Sony in the region, especially considering market fluctuations?

Both 2024 and year-to-date in 2025 have seen strong growth for Sony. Our biggest success factor is the diversified portfolio we hold; we are a very diversified company. This is crucial because demand for electronics is very cyclical. For example, during Covid-19, we saw a peak in TV demand due to stay-at-home needs, with families buying multiple televisions.

Conversely, categories like cameras and headphones saw demand decline. However, as the pandemic ended, people started travelling again and we witnessed a significant spike in demand for our cameras and headphones.

This diversification allowed us to offset declines in one category with growth in another. Our Alpha lineup of digital imaging products made major contributions, as did our headphones. The gaming segment also performed strongly, especially with our expansion into PC gaming through the Inzone brand, which offers gaming monitors and headsets. This strategic mix of categories ensures “continued growth despite cyclical demand changes.”

How does Sony approach gaming in the region?

For many years, Sony’s gaming focus was predominantly on console gaming, with PlayStation being one of the biggest players, and in our region, maybe a monopoly player.  However, about three years ago, we made a strategic decision to enter the PC gaming segment. Statistics indicate that PC gaming is, in fact, larger than console gaming. To cater to this growing market, we launched the Inzone brand, purely dedicated to gaming accessories, so gaming monitors, gaming headsets.

We recently launched a full lineup of Inzone products completing the entire ecosystem from new headsets to improving all the models. These have been co-developed with leading esports team Fnatic, using the feedback from professional players to create products that enhance your FPS gameplay experience.

We recognise the immense popularity of eSports, where players can make significant money. Last year, Sony also partnered with the EWC (Esports World Cup), as a title sponsor for the EWC World Cup that happened in Saudi. And we again partnered for this year’s Esports World Cup in Saudi. This global trend means we will continue with console gaming but also look at how to cater to customers in the PC gaming segment, leveraging our existing technology to meet diverse customer needs.

How do Sony’s values influence its regional operations, particularly the concept of ‘Kando’?

Our core purpose is to ‘fill the world with emotions through the power of creativity and technology’. To achieve this, we strive to deliver ‘Kando’ to our customers.  ‘Kando’ is a Japanese word that translates to stimulate an emotional response and make people go ‘wow’.

This concept is at the heart of Sony in everything that we have been doing, from product design to customer engagement. It underpins our efforts to increase our customer base and bring the latest technology to fans in the region.

What’s next for Sony in the region?

This region is vast, comprising over 70 countries, and our strategies evolve around understanding diverse consumer needs. While we have benchmark markets like UAE/GCC for matured trends, we also focus on expansion into countries where our footprint is still minimal.

Our strategy varies from market to market; in matured markets, it’s about holding or improving market share, while in newer territories like parts of Africa, we focus on demand creation activities. This involves premium demand creation activities and workshops like our Alpha Festivals and Creator Conventions, where we work directly with creators and users to create demand for products.

Central Asia is a region we took over relatively recently, after the Russia-Ukraine crisis led to the winding down of our Sony Russia office. It’s a diverse area, with developed markets like Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan, and developing ones such as Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

While television is strong across Central Asia, digital cameras and content creation are particularly vital in culturally rich markets like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Sound, however, is not as strong a category there, unlike in Africa. We are continuously adapting to these unique market nuances.

With such a broad oversight across 70 countries, how do you personally manage your schedule and responsibilities?

It’s true, I feel like I’m on the plane more than on the ground. But frankly, I rely on a very strong, experienced team that’s put in place. We have dedicated divisions for the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia. Fortunately, Sony is a company that employees rarely want to leave,  so most of our team members, like myself, have 20 plus years of experience in the region and have the pulse of the region in their hands. This makes management much easier.

My travel is primarily focused on building and maintaining relationships with our partners across the region, understanding customer needs firsthand, and being present at demand creation events.It’s a balance, but 50 per cent of my time is in Dubai and maybe a little more than that outside Dubai. 

My North Star has always been ethics and integrity to the company, something I expect from every employee.

What advice do you have for aspiring leaders in today’s dynamic business environment?

The most important advice I can offer is to understand the pulse of the customer and to be in touch with your market.

Leaders must build their strategies around what the customer truly needs and appreciates, rather than simply having a product and trying to “push it to the customer”.

The focus should always be on understanding the pulse of the customer, understanding, you know, what they would appreciate or what would satisfy their need, and then evolving your strategy around… fulfilling the needs of the customer.

Looking ahead, where do you see Sony in five-10 years, maintaining its relevance and leadership?

Sony has always been defined by its focus on customer needs and its diversified portfolio. Many might not know that Sony runs a bank or Sony runs an insurance company, in addition to music, pictures, and PlayStation.

At our core, we remain strong in electronics, but moving forward, our future is deeply tied to IPs and new businesses focused on artificial intelligence.

Sony is ready to run the tide with the new trends that’s coming into the market. Our strength lies in our willingness to take risks on new businesses and trends.

We are significantly increasing our focus on the sports business, with companies like Hawkeye and Beyond Sports, and strategic tie-ups with organisations like the World Athletic Association, World Aquatic Association, and the NFL. We’ve also ventured into the automobile industry, notably through our partnership with Honda.

This new company aims to “leverage and showcase the technology that Sony has,” particularly our camera sensors for autonomous driving and our audiovisual experiences within cars, rather than solely becoming a competitor in the auto space.

Staying relevant, staying innovative, and diversifying will continue to define Sony. I believe that for the next five-10 years,you will see a lot of development that happens into AI and a lot of use cases, new use cases that would come up in terms of how AI would be used.