Sony sees a bright spot in flat-panel TVs

As president of Sony Electronics Inc. in the U.S. and Mexico, he is responsible for $16 billion in revenue, or about one-quarter of the Japanese giant's global electronics sales. That's larger than the GDP of Jordan, Nepal or Bolivia. He also commands a vast network of 15,000 employees who make, market and sell Sony televisions, cameras, laptops and music players, along with dozens of other devices.

Although consumers are throttling back on many purchases, Glasgow sees a silver lining in electronics. He expects flat-panel TVs to be a particularly bright spot this holiday shopping season as U.S. consumers snap up high-definition sets ahead of the country's transition in February to all-digital broadcasts.

His optimism is shared by industry analyst Stephen Baker of NPD Group, who said he expected consumer electronics sales to grow as much as 3% this holiday, with categories such as TVs, laptops and GPS devices growing much faster.

Glasgow, a 57-year-old native of Queens, N.Y., with a wicked accent to prove it, recently sat down with The Times in his San Diego office to discuss trends in consumer electronics and Sony's place within a market that is increasingly price-conscious. Here is an edited transcript of the conversation.

Has the weakened economy affected consumer electronics sales?

We know the economy is not great. Consumers are definitely holding back. They're not eating out as much. They're not buying as much. But they're still purchasing consumer electronics. Sony is very lucky. In our April, May and June quarter, we had double-digit sales growth. I expect we will see a strong holiday season in the U.S. this year.

How is this holiday going to be different for Sony?

You will see more Sony products at more mass merchants than before. We recognize that about 60% of households still need to upgrade to high-definition TV. People buy multiple TVs for a single household. There's a huge addressable market for Sony. We've invested in higher-end products, but we've also extended the line to accommodate a broader market audience.

With competition so fierce, how will Sony differentiate itself?